Something Unexpected
by enchantedbeauty1
Summary: Yukino finds Draco, the celestial dragon, but only a Heartfilia can become his slayer. Featuring Desna's Pradesh family, follow Lucy as she comes into her own as a mage and as a dragon slayer.
1. Chapter 1

**I'm going to try something new: writing a fanfiction. I think this is going to be a one-shot.**

 **I own nothing but Mashima had better not ruin my ship.**

Lucy looked up at the sound of someone knocking on her door. She didn't immediately get up from her desk as she tried to remember if anyone was expected that day. Finally, after the third round of knocks, she stood. The impatience made her smile, reminding her of Natsu. However, she didn't think that he'd magically learn to use the door in the six months that he'd been gone. That thought made the smile disappear as she opened the door.

"Yukino?" she questioned, staring at her friend. "Was I expecting you?" Yukino responded with soft laugh and a shake of her head. "Good. Sorry. Do you want to come in?" Lucy moved out of the way so that the other celestial wizard could enter. "I have this article deadline coming up and I'm not a hundred percent what day it is? Would you like some tea?"

She turned to look at Yukino and saw where Yukino's eyes had fallen. On the table was some information Hibiki had sent her concerning Erza but with her assignment, she hadn't had a chance to put it up on her map. Yukino was the only one who knew about her wall, though all the guilds knew to send her any information that they heard concerning her friends.

"Did you find-"

"No. I found something else that you need to see though."

"What?"

"You wouldn't believe me if I told. Really. You need to see it for yourself."

"I can't right now. I need to finish this article. Though, I should let you read it since it's about Sting." Lucy giggled at how fast Yukino's face flushed.

"Do I want to know what he did? I haven't seen them since I got home from my job. Tomorrow morning?"

Lucy glanced back at her desk and thought about how much she still needed to write. "That's doable, but I'll need coffee."

"I can handle that. See you tomorrow."

Yukino let herself out and Lucy sat back down to finish her article. The burning curiosity at what Yukino wanted to show her invigorated her and she finished in record time.

Not wanting to get caught by Jason and his ability to talk, she slipped in and dropped of the article with a note saying that she'd be back in a few days. Like a guild, articles were posted on a board for writers to choose from. For once, she left without ever glancing at the board to see if there was an assignment that sounded like it might be about Natsu. Though, she had taken note of the exploding mountain that certainly sounded like Gildarts' doing.

-o-

Yukino was at her door with an offering of coffee the next morning. Seeing her pack, Lucy asked, "Will this be a camping job?"

"It's about a day's hike from the road. I was on a pet retrieval job alone when I found-" She stopped, as if uncertain of how to finish the sentence.

"Found what?"

"Come on, Lucy. The train will leave in a bit."

Lucy grabbed the pack that was in her corner, always ready in case she heard a rumor about Natsu.

The two women sat on the train in companionable silence, not needing to fill the air with idle chit-chat. Two older women walking down the aisle were gossiping about an article in Sorcerer's Weekly. It made Lucy think of a story she'd seen on the board and asked Yukino about it. Soon, they were commiserating about the hijinks that the dragon slayers caused.

They got off at Cedar Village and found a wagon headed in the direction they were going. The driver was curious about where they were headed but Yukino remained tight-lipped. The dirt road wound through forest the slowly sloped up a mountain with a rocky peak that could occasionally be seen through the trees. Somewhere around the time that the train had passed through Oak Town, Lucy had stopped trying to wheedle information out of her companion.

The first night, they camped not far from the road. They stared up at the stars and talked about the still lost keys.

"What key would you want?" Yukino asked.

"Hm…Monoceros, I think."

"He's a healer, right? I'm surprised that you'd want one so peaceful."

"Ouch," Lucy replied, pressing her hand to her heart. "You got me right here. What about you?"

"Hm…Orion."

"Nope. I've already got an archer and more perverted spirits than I know how to handle."

"Is Leo still declaring his undying love for you?"

Hearing his name, Loke summoned himself, nearly blinding Lucy and Yukino after adapting to the night. "You called, Beautiful."

"I didn't. Now, go away. We're have girl time," Lucy said, tiredly.

"If I must," he said, bowing with a flourish. As he straightened, he froze and his eyes widened.

"What is it?" Lucy asked.

He was looking around and saw Yukino shaking her head. "Nothing. Good night, Princess." He disappeared in another show of bright lights.

"That was weird, even for him."

"It's late. We should sleep since we have a lot of walking tomorrow and it's all uphill."

-o-

The following morning, neither of them spoke beyond chit-chat. As the climb got steeper and the day got longer that faded off.

"Shouldn't we stop for the night," Lucy asked, seeing the setting sun and knowing that they must be nearing the tree line.

"No. It's better if you see him at night."

"'Him'? Yukino, where are you taking me?"

"C'mon."

"Yuki," Lucy whined, but followed. The trees gave way to rocks but what shocked Lucy was that there was a definite path made in them. It was narrow and rocks jutted out from the sides, but it was a path.

The path started to go downhill into a valley. Faintly, she could see trees and a hint of orange water reflecting the sky. By the time that they'd fully descended down into the valley, only the stars and moon lit their way. Yukino led her through the trees, to the opposite side of the valley.

"Are you going to tell me what-" Lucy's voice trailed off as she saw the massive creature that Yukino had led her to.

Its scales were dark blue or black and looked smooth to the touch like a snake's skin. The snout looked big enough to eat her whole and his closed eyes were probably size of her head. The massive wings, a few shades lighter than the scales, blocked enough of the white spots on his scales that it took her a moment to realize that they were a reflection of the night sky.

"Oh my god. Draco…" Lucy breathed. "He's real. Like, properly, real."

"Lucy, ever think about becoming a dragon slayer?" Yukino asked and Lucy whipped around to gawk at her.

"What?"

"Did you ever want to become a dragon slayer?"

"I- don't you? Why didn't you?"

"Because I'm too old. Our boys trained as children."

"You're the same age as me."

"But you're a Heartfilia."

"I-"

"Are you two done talking?" Draco said, his voice deep and rolling in his chest. He opened one eye, silver as the moon, and studied Lucy. "You Heartfilias all look the same. Anna asked me to ground myself to Earthland. It's been awfully dull."

"Why?" Lucy asked, stepping forward.

"She was afraid her five dragon slayers wouldn't be strong enough. Only a Heartfilia would be strong enough to become my dragon slayer. It'll be difficult and painful so it's up to you to decide." Both eyes were open now and watching her. She had a life that she knew she was giving up but it went back to Yukino's question.

"I-I want to be a dragon slayer."


	2. Chapter 2

**This story is like an absurd earworm and instead of working on my novels I'm writing fanfiction for Hiro Mashima. Hmph.**

Lucy sat on a boulder high up on the ridge of Draco's canyon. Yukino had curled up in her sleeping bag and Draco remained next to lake. She could imagine that he used his natural camouflage to hunt at night but was staying for her sake. Without being able to see it, she could tell that his attention was focused on her. As well as an open eye.

Her pensiveness was so deep that the bright lights of Loke's arrival didn't surprise her. "You should sleep," he said softly, sitting down next to her. "You're supposed to start training tomorrow."

She didn't bother asking how he knew that. "I can't. There's just- I don't know." She dropped her head onto her knees. "Can you do me a favor?" she asked, her voice muffled.

"Of course, we can elope. I thought you'd never ask," Loke said, smirking at her.

Lucy lifted her head and glared at him. "Shut up, idiot. That's not even close," she said, shoving him with her shoulder but a small smile appeared. "I need you-" She stopped, her gaze moving to Draco. "Don't let me run away."

"What do you mean?"

"I'm scared. What if I can't do this?"

"I've never heard you talk like this."

"Normally because Natsu's stupidity rubs off. I guess it only took six months for self-preservation and common sense to kick back in." At that, Loke chuckled. "I need you to not let me run away because I get scared or because it's too hard."

"You gave your-"

"He wouldn't let me. He didn't want me to risk my other contracts if training with him became too difficult and I gave up."

"You won't give up because you're a Fairy Tail mage."

"Fairy Tail doesn't exist anymore." The words had fallen from her mouth so many times that harsh bitterness was gone. He hated hearing the sadness that was combined with her acceptance.

"That emblem on your hand says otherwise. As does the one on my back. Just because it's gone now, doesn't mean it can't return. The guild's been rebuilt before. You'll just have to finish your training and come back strong enough to rebuild it yourself."

"And beat the crap out of Natsu."

"Definitely do that. And don't forget, I'll be here with you the entire time."

"Loke, promise you won't go easy on me. This won't work if you do."

"Yes, Princess."

Lucy stood, stretched her arms over head, and arched her back. Next to her, Loke unabashedly ogled. "Thank you," she said before starting to climb down.

"Anytime, Princess," he said, watching her carefully make her way down to Yukino.

The next morning, Yukino prepared to leave on her own. Her brown eyes searched Lucy's for the hesitation from the night before but the fear seemed to have disappeared. Slowly, she smiled and nodded.

"Okay then," Yukino said, the smile widening.

"Are you sure that Sabertooth won't mind holding my stuff?"

"Don't worry about that. Can I tell Sting and Rogue where you are?"

"Don't tell them about Draco but everything else, yes. I want to explain everything on my own time."

"Okay. I'll be back in a month's time. If there's anything you need before that or want me to bring, you have your lacrima."

"You sound like your worried that you'll never see me again."

"I'll admit that I'm concerned," Yukino said.

Lucy took her hands. "Go. Take care of your boys. And call me if you hear any- Actually, no. Don't call me. I'll become a dragon slayer and sniff his ass out and then kick it into Bosco."

Yukino chuckled. "Sounds like a plan." The girls hugged and when Yukino stepped away, both of them knew it was time for her to go.

Lucy watched Yukino make her way up the side of the valley. Once she was over the edge and out of sight, Lucy turned to Draco. "What first?"

"Call Leo out. I want you to start with endurance training."

 _Running. Of course, they had to start with running._

-O-

"Yukino! Where have you been?" Sting demanded, running up to her when she entered the guild. He held her shoulders as he looked for any possible injuries that could have delayed her by so many days.

"I'm sorry, Sting. I got back and then left again with Lucy."

"Lucy?"

She nodded and looked around for Rogue. He was watching them talk but immediately stood when Yukino beckoned him over. Frosch watched him walk away but Lector was quick to entertain her again.

"Come on," she said, motioning to Sting's office.

The office was large with two desks, because Sting didn't do anything without Rogue, a burgundy sofa, and trophy case with all the GMG trophies from before Natsu and his friends returned. Sting carefully leaned on his desk, which was covered in papers, while Rogue against the wall by the door.

"On my last mission, I met someone who specialized in a powerful type of celestial magic," Yukino said, thinking of how she'd planned to phrase it on the train ride home.

"That's awesome. Can we see it?" Sting asked.

"No. He said that only a Heartfilia could learn it as an adult. So, when I got back, I visited Lucy and took her to him. She's decided to stay and train. Which brings me to this: can we store her stuff here?"

"Sure. There's space in the basement."

"Okay. I'll see who I can round up to help pack."

"Yuki," Rogue said softly as she went to pass him, "Are you sure that you're okay with not being able to train with Lucy?"

"Yeah," she said honestly. The entire train ride had been spent trying to figure how to word what happened without mentioning that Draco was a dragon. Knowing her abysmal poker face and the fact that the dragon slayers could probably smell a spike of adrenaline, she'd told the truth. Just not all of it. "I'd rather be with the guild and my boys." She looked over her shoulder at Sting. "Besides, someone's gotta keep you out of trouble. Not blowing up a monster and getting guts everywhere."

Sting sputtered and Rogue laughed.


	3. Chapter 3

**Let's be honest: this one is pretty much a giant training montage. I personally recommend Guano Apes "Open Your Eyes" mainly because it's my favorite fight song.**

 **I own nothing except my awesome sparring moves.**

Lucy blocked Loke's punch but missed his round kick. It tossed her back and she cursed as she crashed onto the ground. Her abdomen hurt. Then again, she was at the point that most of her body hurt. Muscles that hadn't been used since that ill-advised training session with Erza screamed in protest.

"Again," Capricorn said.

"Give her a second or she'll be too sore to hold your gate open."

They'd learned during those first few days that when she was too exhausted from training that she couldn't keep the gates open even if she still had the magic. It annoyed her to no end.

"No," she said, getting up slowly. "He's right. I need to get better at holding the gates open despite being exhausted."

"Fine," Loke said grudgingly. "One more round and then we stop for dinner."

"Okay."

They punched and parried blows until Loke tried the reverse round kick again. Seeing it coming, Lucy blocked it with her forearm turning into it further and elbowing striking his cheek.

"Oi," he said, jumping back. "Watch the face."

"Oh please. What girls are you trying to woo out here?" Lucy asked, her hands on her hips.

"Well my princess is out here," he said, giving her his usual roguish smirk.

"Whatever," she said with a roll of her eyes. Noting the distance between them, she used the space to gain momentum for a jump side kick. The move surprised him enough that he accidentally disappeared back to Celestial Realm. However, it messed up her trajectory and sent her tumbling into a tree. Her tailbone crashed into the unforgiving wood, leaving her legs against the trunk. She blinked slowly to reorient herself before tipping her head back to look at Capricorn. "Does that count?"

A few feet away, Draco chuckled. The sound sent vibrations through the ground. "It works for me," he said.

After the first few days of physical training, Lucy demanded to know when she'd learn to become a dragon slayer. Draco's response was 'not until she was ready.' After that first week, she'd asked when they'd move past hand-to-hand combat. Loke said when she knocked him to the ground.

"We'll still be doing hand-to-hand," Capricorn said in his prim voice, "But I suppose we can toss your weapons in now. In any case, I'll take my leave. Good night, Lady Lucy."

"Thanks, Capricorn," she said with a big smile.

It had been three weeks since she'd come to Draco to learn to be a dragon slayer and a routine had slowly formed. No one forced her up early, knowing the sunlight would eventually awaken her. After breakfast, she stretched, ran, and whatever new torture techniques in the name of fitness that Capricorn came up with. After lunch, she'd spar against Loke with Capricorn supervising. After sparring, she meditated. With the exception of summoning Capricorn, it was the only magic she used. Capricorn only stayed with her through meditations during that first week. It was the one bit of training that she'd have done on her own.

Saturday, tomorrow, would be her off day. It wasn't spent physically training but instead she fished, scavenged for fruits and vegetables, and prepared food for the rest of the week. When she returned to Crocus, she was never going to complain about shopping again. _And when Natsu returns, I won't_ \- She stopped that thought. One, because she knew what followed would be a lie. Two, because the training had her eating twice as much as before so she was beginning to understand why he ate so much. And three, the ever-present reason. She didn't want to think about him.

"Ugh!" Lucy screeched, flopping backwards.

Draco stared at the hatchling. She should still be meditating. "What's wrong?"

"Damn idiot getting stuck in my head," she mumbled, not caring if Draco heard her or understood the ranting.

"Ah. Igneel's boy, right?"

"Yeah."

"You like him," he said, his gravelly voice unable to pull of Happy's trill, but was still sufficiently obnoxious.

"Shut up ya damn dragon." She was too comfortable to get up and kick him, but she thought about it. Instead, she threw a stick that her fingers found but didn't watch to see if it made contact. It didn't.

"Tell me a story." She smiled and thought of one she hadn't told him yet. She then proceeded to tell him about the jiggle butt gang. "I did not need that. Now I'm going to have nightmares."

She laughed. "Tell me about it. I couldn't get the smell out of my nose for days."

It was only fairly recently that she'd realized why he asked her about the guild and the adventures they'd gone on. Between the seclusion and the training, the pain had lessened which was good but it made her forget what she was fighting for. She couldn't quite picture the shade of red that Erza's hair was or the sound of Mira's giggling. Gajeel's singing was unfortunately engraved in her memory though she wished it wasn't.

Finally, she stood and trudged her way into a cave not far from where Draco slept. It was too small for him to fit but during a bad storm, he'd stuck his head in to block the rain. It wasn't especially homey, but it did the trick. Loke and Virgo had supplied some extra blankets as well as new clothes since the ones that she'd brought weren't great for training.

Saturday passed uneventfully. She'd fished for most of the morning then looked for wild vegetables. It was nice to eat fresh fish instead of the smoked that she made in a smaller cave. She missed heavier meats but not enough to skin an animal herself and didn't like the disgust on Loke's face when he did it for her. Both admitted later that they should've asked Virgo to do it.

"Open the gate of the goat! Capricorn!"

"Hello, Lady Lucy," Capricorn said when he appeared, bowing to her slightly. "If you don't mind, please summon Virgo."

"Um…Okay." Lucy took out Virgo's key. "Open gate of the virgin! Virgo!" Virgo's face was her usual mask of apathy, but there seemed to be a sense of giddiness in her eyes.

"While we do plan on continuing your training with the fleuve d'étoiles as your long-range weapon, we want to introduce you to a new weapon: the rantai," Capricorn said. Lucy slowly walked forward and looked at the chain in Virgo's hands. It was folded but looked like a long necklace that even going over her breasts would reach her belly button. The metal looked like a cross between gold and silver. "The rantai may not look like much, but when used properly, it can slice through wood. Virgo, if don't mind."

Virgo handed Capricorn then pulled out a ball of wood from a mysterious pocket in her dress. She then threw the ball as hard as she could. All Lucy saw was a flash of gold and the ball was sliced cleanly in half.

"It can also be used offensively against certain types of magic," Capricorn added.

"Also, Princess, you could wear it as an accessory since you do get kidnapped a lot and go undercover." Lucy flushed, but she did agree that it would look good on her. "I personally recommend you wear it was a bracelet. Easier access."

"Thank you, Virgo. You may go now."

For the next few hours, Lucy and Capricorn practiced swinging the chain. They found the biggest tree, which annoyed Draco since it meant he couldn't watch, and Lucy practiced slicing the tree. By the end of the day, Lucy had sufficiently sliced up the tree.

The following day, Capricorn had Lucy summon Aries. For the following week, her mornings were spent trying slice wool balls. The best she could do with most of those was knock them off course. It didn't stop her from doing a little happy dance when she successfully sliced one.

The afternoons were spent sparring with Loke. Now, he was training her how to fight in close combat with the rantai. That, she picked up a bit quicker. A fact that was getting progressively more painful for Loke.

On the fourth day of training, Lucy had caught Loke's head in the chain. His eyes widened for a second before he disappeared back to the Celestial Realm. Realizing how badly she'd hurt her friend, she refused to train for the rest of the day.

"Child, are you going to sulk there forever?" Draco asked, sticking his snout into Lucy cave. His hot breath in the confines of the cave made her glare at him. She was huddled on her blankets, her knees to her chest, and her head on her knees.

"Yes. I could have killed him. If he'd have been one of my guildmates, it would have. He's my friend and I hurt him."

"Does the fact that he's not angry at you mean nothing?"

"Yes! No! I don't know!"

"Lucy Heartfilia, you will come out of this cave right now."

"Excuse me?" Lucy said, jumping up with her hands on her hips.

 _Oops_ , Draco thought. He'd known enough Heartfilias in his time to know that look in her eyes. She'd stay in the cave for a week, just to spite him. "Fine. You have a reprieve. Just Lucy, remember. This is training. You're supposed to make mistakes. And honestly, child, that wouldn't have killed a mage. A normal person, maybe. But not a mage."

She stayed in that cave for the rest of the night, ignoring Draco's attempts to get her to at least tell him a story.

The subsequent days followed a similar pattern. Running, push-ups, crunches, and stretches as warm ups. Followed by training with Aries. Then sparring with Loke, but without the rantai.

Aries threw the ball at Lucy and immediately, Lucy realized how dense this particular ball was by how straight it flew. There was only a second for her to cringe once it was passed her chain.

"I'm sorry, Miss Lucy!" Aries cried as Lucy dropped to the ground.

"It's alright, Aries. Please calm down." If anything, her words made Aries cry more.

Capricorn lifted her chin to inspect the damage. "You'll have a black eye. Shame your ice wizard isn't here."

"Yeah. It would help."

"Do you want to continue today?"

"Yeah, but I'd like a break. I need to mentally prepare myself for dealing with Loke."

Capricorn chuckled. "Yes, Lady Lucy."

Lucy walked over to Aries and hugged her tight. "Don't worry. I'm fine." She released her and stepped back. "Go on home. I'll see you tomorrow, okay?"

"Yes, Miss Lucy," Aries said with a watery smile.

"You know," Draco said when it was just the two of them, "that's not much different than you hurting Leo."

"It is. It's very different. I have a bruise. I hurt him bad enough that he had to go to the Celestial Realm to recover."

He sighed, knowing that part of the problem was that she was still learning to use the weapon. As evidenced by how often she failed to slice through the wool balls.

"My love! What happened to your face!" Loke asked, running up to her.

"You know, it would be much better practice if you let me summon you instead of popping up whenever you want," she said with slightly narrowed eyes.

"Yeah, yeah," he said, waving his hand dismissively. "But I love seeing your face…though maybe not as much right now."

"Thanks. Can we train now?"

"Whatever you want, Princess. But wouldn't you rather go cuddle in-" he said, dropping his hand on her shoulders.

"Hands off, Leo," Draco grumbled.

"Aye, sir!" he replied, hands in the air.

"Aren't you supposed to be the big bad Leo, leader of the zodiac?" Lucy said, a hint of flirtation in her teasing.

"He's a dragon. He could sit on me."

"Are you calling me fat?" Draco asked.

"What? Of course not! You're uh big boned."

"That sounded convincing," he said, getting up.

"Lucy, help," Loke said out of the corner of his mouth.

"Nope," she replied, leaning against a tree.

Draco caught the lion spirit by the back of his coat and picked him up in his snout then walked over to the lake and dropped him in. Then slowly walked back but settled down facing the lake so that he could watch as Loke scrambled to the surface. Lucy started giggling which turned into riotous laughter as Loke trudged out of the water. His clothes were soaked and noticeably weighing him down. His hair was plastered down making his cat ears stick out more.

"Now you're a wet kitty cat," Lucy said between laughs.

"Ha ha. I'm gonna go change- unless you'd like to see me nak-" Draco growled. "Never mind!" Loke disappeared.

"Thanks. I needed that," Lucy said, settling down next to Draco, leaning against his leg.

"It's good to hear you laugh. It seems like it's been too long."

"Sorry."

"Just remember, they're your friends. They don't like hurting you anymore than you like hurting them. Accidents happen."

"I know."

"Luckily, you won't be as accident prone the Igneel's boy. Or any of the others, really."

"You mean when I become a dragon slayer?"

"Yes."

"You're not gonna put a lacrima in me, are you?"

"No."

"You're also not gonna tell me what it'll take to become your dragon slayer today, are you?"

"No."

"Didn't think so."

Loke summoned himself and Lucy stood to go train with him.

The next few days pass normally enough. Virgo had the idea to introduce a plain chain that was a similar weight to the rantai for Lucy's training with Loke. It broke a lot but they found that the heat Loke summoned from Regulus worked fairly well at repairing it. To make up for lost time, she trained until it was simply too dark to continue.

On Monday, Lucy was training with Aries when an almost unfamiliar voice rang through the valley. They stopped and looked at the path. Carefully climbing down was Yukino.

"Yukino! Oh my goodness! Was I expecting you?" Lucy asked, running and hugging the other celestial mage.

"I said I was coming back in a month."

Lucy's jaw dropped. She hadn't realized that she'd been there an entire month already. Or maybe, it felt like she'd been there longer.

"And I brought the job you asked for. Seventy-thousand jewel to catch some bandits."

"Seriously?" Lucy asked, snatching the paper from her hands before remembering that she didn't need to pay rent anymore. "Wait, I didn't ask for a job."

"I did," Capricorn said. Yukino bowed slightly to the spirit before giving him an inquisitive look. "I know you are holding back in sparring sessions with Leo so I thought it might be good training for you. Besides, you'll need money when you get back to Crocus or Magnolia."

Lucy gawked at him. She'd forgotten that, at some point, she'd have to head back. "Okay," she said, smiling at Capricorn then turning her attention to Yukino. "Do you need a break or do you wanna leave today?"

"It's early. We can leave now." Unlike when Yukino had initially brought Lucy, when it started to get dark, she'd stopped for the night.

"Okay. Let me get my stuff." Lucy ran to her cave and quickly stuffed the necessities into her bag.

"Make sure you bring the real rantai," Draco said, Aries and Capricorn having already returned to the Celestial Realm.

"Rantai?" Yukino asked.

"I'll tell you everything on the way," Lucy assured her as they prepared to leave.


	4. Chapter 4

"So he hasn't started teaching you anything?" Yukino asked.

"No. He keeps saying that I'm not strong enough." Before they'd left, Lucy had grabbed the entire stock of dried fish and collected vegetables, only to find that Yukino had brought extra food thinking that Lucy would miss it.

The two women were settled across from each with a small fire. They were still close enough to the valley that they weren't concerned about wyverns or vulcans. According to Draco, vulcans were rather tasty which was a thought that Lucy would prefer not having.

"But I thought the whole reason for a Heartfilia to become a dragon slayer was that only a Heartfilia was strong enough."

"Magically, yes. But physically…" Lucy trailed off but leaned over to examine what she could of the abdominal muscles that had begun to appear.

"You're not weak."

"I know but look at Sting and the others."

"Okay yeah."

They rolled out their sleeping bags. It was a fairly clear night, but Lucy found herself wondering how winter would feel. It would probably snow. She hated snow. It was wet, cold, and hard to move in. Capricorn had probably planned her training in the snow.

"Lucy?" Yukino had rolled over and was staring at her. She waved off Lucy's apology and asked, "Where'd you go?"

"I was just thinking about what training will be like when it snows."

"Oh. That's probably not going to be any fun. Speaking of training, you train with Leo, right?"

"Yeah…?"

"Don't you ever get you know…erm flustered?"

"Huh?" Lucy murmured until she realized what Yukino had meant. Then her face flushed bright red. "No! He's my spirit."

"So? I've sparred with Sting and Rogue. I know that it gets a bit…hot."

"He's Loke. Flirt, playboy, biggest perv short of Taurus." In its pocket inside of her sleeping bag, Loke's key heated up admonishing her. "Don't even," she said to the key. Anyone other than Yukino would have thought she was crazy, but she'd communicated with her keys enough to recognize the gesture.

"I know. But still. I got so flustered once I ran out in the middle of sparring. Rufus saw the whole thing and teased me afterwards. Luckily, I don't think Sting figured out what happened."

"So, which one is your favorite?" Lucy was satisfied with how flustered Yukino got. "I mean, I've only got-" Lucy stopped. It took Yukino a moment to realize what happened.

"He'll come back."

"Yeah, and when he does, I'll be able to kill his ass for leaving."

Yukino laughed. Like most of their conversations, they soon devolved into speculations about the lost keys.

To create the Infinity Clock, a number of celestial wizards were killed. There were still others out there. Lucy knew Horologium had a contract with at least one other mage. Of course, it didn't necessarily mean that the contract was with a celestial mage. Any mage could create contacts with a celestial spirit, but most could only make one contract. Most spirits refused to make contracts with non-celestial mages that already had a contract.

The conversation slowly petered out as they drifted to sleep.

"Why do they always insist on living in places that look like something out of a horror movie?" Lucy asked blandly as they surveyed the guildhall of Chimera's Poison.

Yukino giggled at her comment and Loke smirked.

"Okay. So, the plan is to not need to call on me to help. You have my stardress and your rantai. I will, of course, be watching both of your backs."

"Our backs or our butts?" Lucy muttered.

Again, Yukino giggled while Loke looked offended at her assertion.

"Anyways," he continued, with a hint of pout still on his face, "you need to get more practice on channeling your magic through your rantai."

"I should point out that Rogue is probably somewhere around here. He and Sting saw me grab the job sheet. I told them that it was for the two of us, but you know how they are," Yukino added.

"Fair enough. We can make him wait for the Council to do the clean-up."

"How do we want to do this?"

"I think we should just bust through the front doors."

Yukino was quick to disagree. She thought splitting up and taking down as many as she could in silence was the best option. The two women argued over the best way to take on the dark guild, ignoring Loke anytime he tried to input his opinion. Finally, they agreed to sneak but stick together.

The first few rooms that they cleared, they were able to knock to wizards out without making much noise. Yukino found Lucy's skill with her rantai more than a little terrifying.

The chains seemed to dance around her when she moved. Small sparks of unadulterated celestial magic bounced along it. According to Lucy, Yukino would be able to learn how to channel her magic like that as well if she wanted and Loke had already agreed that when they returned to Draco, she could train with Lucy if she wanted.

In one room, they found half a dozen different wizards. As one prepared to scream, Lucy wrapped her rantai around her neck and pulled. Though she felt confident that she didn't kill the woman, the sickening thud made her cringe.

The snapping energy of Leo's Regulus attack as it trailed down the rantai was sufficient without the potentially fatal attacks. Fighting like this with the rantai made her feel powerful in a way she wasn't used to. It made her understand Natsu enjoyment. Even Erza would have a small smile of pleasure when she was being challenged, and triumphing, the way that Lucy was.

In the midst of the fighting, Yukino and Lucy had been separated. Libra was formidable but didn't always differentiate between friend and foe so as they moved into the large main space of the guildhall, Yukino had eased away from Lucy.

Lucy whipped one man across the chest, the light blasting him away, as she kicked another. She'd turned in Yukino's direction as a man moved to attack her from behind.

"Yukino!" Lucy yelled as a blast of magic erupted from her mouth. It was bluish-black with red-orange specks. The recoil, and the surprise, of the attack knocked Lucy back. It didn't have the raw power of any of the dragon slayers' breath attacks, but it didn't knock all of the wizards out except for Yukino. Libra had turned to give Lucy a speculative look while Loke was giving his hand a similar look.

Rogue, who'd been about to stop the attack himself, fell out of the shadow he'd been lurking. "What was that?"

"Seems we're immune. That's interesting," Loke said at the same time as Rogue's exclamation.

"What was that?" Rogue asked again as he marched up to Lucy.

"That's a very good question," Lucy said, standing up and looking at Loke. "What was that?"

"That was a dragon's roar. How did you do that?"

"That's a very good question. Loke?"

"You know, I really need to go update Draco about the development. Uh bye." Loke fled back to the celestial realm. Virgo replaced him with an armful of magic canceling rope.

Now that the cat was out of the bag, Lucy and Yukino filled Rogue on what she'd been doing over the last month. Answering his questions ended up taking as long as it took for the Magic Council to arrive to round up the wizards.

"Are you going to take Leo up on his offer?" Rogue asked.

"No, but I want to know how Lucy saved me. I'll be back in about a week or so."

"All right. I'll tell Sting."

The two women left Rogue with Lucy's share of the reward to cover the guild storing her belongings though she did buy a few things in town while the waited for the train.

 **I'm sorry. You may now punish me. Hm… That sounded vaguely dirty. I didn't mean to leave this for as long as I did. Blame school. It's a nice reprieve from my Master's Thesis though.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Hello, my pretties. My master's thesis is done! Excuse me while I go drink a really large bottle of wine. And make peach cobbler. And eat said cobbler…**

Lucy glared at Draco with her hands on her hips. As soon as she'd arrived back in the canyon, she'd dropped her bag and demanded an explanation from the dragon. Yukino was lingering behind, hoping to stay out of the crosshairs between the wizard and dragon.

"There was a reason that it had to be a celestial wizard and not some random whelp like the others had taken."

"Wait. A celestial wizard or a Heartfilia?" Yukino asked.

Draco started making a grumbling noise that Lucy recognized as the sound he made when he was trying to be evasive.

"Oi."

"It had to be a descendent of the twelve original celestial wizards. The others married. Names were lost. Only the Heartfilias kept their name throughout the generations."

"Oh," Lucy murmured.

"What is he talking about?" Yukino asked.

"Nobody teaches history anymore," Draco grumbled, reminding them both of some of the older guild masters.

"The first celestial wizards were a tribe in what's now Bosco. They worshipped the skies and managed to make the first silver keys. To protect the keys, they helped create the contracts that bind wizard and spirit. Some spirits, like Horologium, had multiple keys made because of their usefulness. There's multiple Nikora keys because there's many little dogs.

"The Zodiac got jealous because the silver keys were going on adventures. The Spirit King decided to give a single golden key to twelve of the wizards who best loved and protected the spirits. That viewed them as partners."

"No one thought to treat spirits as objects yet," Draco muttered. "It was a seith mage that first said that since celestial spirits don't have souls should they really matter.

"It made it easier to incite war between wizards and the celestial world. Those that sided with the seith mages used their spirits as shields. Most celestial wizards tried to protect the celestial world."

"What happened?" Yukino asked.

Draco sighed. It sounded like thunder rolling through a mountain. "The Spirit King created archangels. To be honest, I think they were on awful idea. He wanted them to protect the wizards but also fearful of them, he made them practically servants to the celestial wizards. They were like human celestial spirits."

"What happened to them?"

"It's been hundreds of years since there was one. They have to be born and the last one, Gal-something, had lots of children but no archangels."

"You always avoided telling me, but how are you still on Earthland?"

"During the last Dragon King Festival, when Acnologia lost his humanity, your ancestor asked me to ground myself here. The Celestial King holds my key until it is passed to my dragon slayer.

"My dragon slaying is unlike the others. It's like an ever present stardress. You will have access to it as long as my key is near you. It can never be taken from you or simply dropped. If your other keys are taken, it'll reappear in your hand. It shouldn't take long for you to learn it since you've achieved your stardresses."

"Does this mean it's time for me to start training?"

"Yes."

Lucy stood up and started dancing, her fists punching the arm.

"Tomorrow. Spend some time with your friend."

Lucy and Yukino ended up spending the rest of the night asking Draco about the other keys, their personalities, and a rough estimate on how many keys possibly remained to be found.

-oOo-

The next two months were grueling. It had taken Loke two days to realize that Lucy had trouble with the dragon's roar unless in danger. Her implicit trust, while gratifying, was turning into a hinderance.

A system was put in place where Yukino would pick jobs for Lucy then send them through her spirits to Lucy's. The payments were used to maintain her belongings held by Sabertooth.

Once she got the hang of the roar, her other attacks followed rather quickly. Her most prominent one was a simplified version of urano metria as well as the second part, urano graphia. Urano graphia channeled the power of three lost constellations.

It was in the early hours of the morning that Lucy heard Loke and Draco arguing.

"She isn't ready," Draco said, his voice even deeper from his annoyance.

"The king thinks she is."

"He's a moron."

"He's still your king."

Draco made a grumbling noise like thunder. "It's not our fault that she's annoying."

"Who are you talking about?" Lucy asked, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes.

"The Spirit King has an offer for you," Loke said before Draco could interject.

"Hm? What?"

"He will return Aquarius to you if you retrieve a set of keys."

"What?" She leapt onto Loke, gripped his shoulders, and shook him. "What keys? Where are they?"

"The Spirit King wants you to retrieve the Ptolemaic Royals," Draco said, hoping his charge would recognize the name.

"Oh." She stepped away from both Loke and Draco. "Nobody's seen those keys in hundreds of years. There's versions that say they never existed."

"They did. Your ancestor, Anna, hid their keys at the Spirit King's request. He didn't want to destroy them because then he'd be stuck with Cassi forever with no escape."

"What did they do?"

"Cassiopeia's master became infatuated with her. To the point that he tried destroying all other keys, so he didn't have to share her. Anna stopped him, but the damage was done. However, Perseus, Cepheus, and Andromeda refused to allow their keys to be separated from Cassi. The four keys rarely don't share a master and arranged their contracts around their bond."

"So, where are they?"

"No one knows. Anna wouldn't even tell the king," Loke replied. "I'd start at Academe Celestine. After all, Anna was born and raised in Bosco."

Lucy nodded softly. She'd also be the first Heartfilia to attend since there'd been a falling out with Anna and the celestial mages that made up the Star Gazer tribe in Bosco.

She remembered her parents arguing about her going to the school. It was the best so of course Lucy should go there. That was Jude's opinion with Layla. After her mother died, when she'd bring it up, he'd shoot her down. Part of her wished it was to honor her mother's opinions but honestly, it was because he wanted to keep her under his thumb.

"Where are you going?" Draco asked when he realized that Lucy was walking away.

"Tomorrow's going to be a long day. I'm catching a bit more beauty sleep."

Draco harrumphed again when he realized that she was siding with Loke. As she slept, he breathed as much of his essence, his magic, into her. Her age meant that she'd never have some of the more noticeable physical traits like the sharpened canines. Through the fluidity of her magic, he imagined she wouldn't acquire traits that could be supplemented be a key. The strengthening of her second origin meant that she'd be able to summon more spirits, but he'd hoped he'd have more time to prepare her.

The sun wasn't quite up when Loke reappeared with his key for Lucy. Draco waited for Lucy to wake and pack.

"It's time for me to go, hatchling."

"What?" He gently nuzzled her with her snout. "I must go. Leo has my key."

"You're returning to the celestial realm."

"Yes. I would have liked more time to train you, but I don't think that it's likely we'll have that time for a long while."

"Thank you, Draco," she said, crying into his snout as she hugged him.

"Chin up. It's time for a new adventure. Don't summon me too soon. I need some rest."

"Go away you damn reptile," she said with as much bite as she could muster.

He chuckled as he disappeared in the bright sparks she was familiar with. Suddenly, the valley seemed so much emptier and she couldn't wait to leave.

 **So, if you noticed, Desna's Bosco is about to make an appearance along with the Pradesh family. If you're old enough (aka 18+) you should go check her out as well as Pradesh week.**


	6. Chapter 6

**Two chapters in as many days. Don't get used to it. It probably won't happen again.**

 **OHMIGOD! There's so many likes and follows. It warms the cockles of my heart. My soul is the color of…slightly creamed coffee.**

 **There's a longer note at the end but I'll end it here for now.**

 _"_ _Are you sure this is a good idea?" Draco asked. He was in his smaller form. It was the size of a Labrador. He did this to not overtax his master's magic._

 _Anna was watching the five children play. Draco had lost count how many times she'd had to pull Gajeel and Natsu off one another. Or stop them from bullying Sting and Rogue for not being able to keep up._

 _"_ _Yes. There's not enough magic here for them to be able to defeat Acnologia."_

 _"_ _But teaming up with Zeref. You must've heard the rumors."_

 _"_ _They're still just rumors," Anna said, her voice a low hiss. "The Eclipse Gate was his invention and it's only with his help that we'd be able to use it without the Zodiac."_

 _"_ _I think you should tell them."_

 _"_ _No. We have similar goals, so I don't think he'll betray us."_

 _"_ _What of the other dragons?"_

 _"_ _The spell has been cast. There are places where they can suppress their magic. When it is time, they'll join their slayers."_

 _"_ _And Skiadrum and Weisslogia?"_

 _She shook her head. "Binding Acnologia the way they did… No, they both knew they wouldn't survive it. I don't think the boys fully understand what their parents asked of them."_

 _"_ _And your contracts?"_

 _"_ _Natsu! Gajeel! Knock it off before I put you in time out," Anna yelled, stopping both boys mid-attack. They both gave her a sheepish look before sulkily going in opposite directions. "Tamia is taking Aquarius. The others are being given to my students. Yours, of course, is being given to the Celestial King."_

 _"_ _Have you told Aquarius that your giving Scorpio away?"_

 _"_ _Urm…"_

 _"_ _And the school?"_

 _Anna sighed. "They won't listen and are going ahead with construction. Those that are taking my keys are going to Fiore. After what happened in Mildian, I said that I didn't support having all the celestial wizards in one place like that. It made them too easy a target. So many magics were lost when he-"_

 _"_ _When Zeref killed them?" Draco said, his voice a quiet grumble in an attempt to keep the boy from hearing._

 _"_ _It's a necessary evil."_

 _"_ _Why must I do this?"_

 _"_ _If Acnologia wakes up early, or if something goes wrong, there may need to be more slayers. I know you've already gotten permission from the Celestial King for Nurem to take your space up there. Your magic, and the magic of your slayer, would be virtually undetectable from their normal celestial magic."_

Lucy was woken up by her lacricomm ringing. "Hello?"

"Finally! I have been trying to get ahold of you for three weeks. First, I realize that there haven't been any articles by you. So, I stop by your apartment and met a man that made me appreciate that at least Grey looks good naked. And then I stop by Sabertooth. Yukino tells me that you're on some top-secret quest that she can't tell me about, but Sting apparently knows since he can't keep a straight face. And I'm supposed to be one of your best friends and-"

"Levy, breathe."

"Where are you?"

"Not sure currently. Headed to Cellis in Bosco."

"You're going to the Acadame, aren't you? I'm so jealous. They're really particular about who they let into the library. Have you never been?"

"No." Lucy proceeded to tell her about the Celestial King's mission and the reward of Aquarius's key. For some reason, she didn't like the idea of telling her about Draco over comm.

"Well, I'll help you from ERA's archives. I kinda get lost in them. Literally a few weeks ago. If not Gajeel's nose…"

Lucy laughed. She was glad to know they were together still. It had bothered her the way that everyone picked up and left so easily. Just after her first spread, she'd found out that Gajeel and Levy had gone to work for the Council. All of them in Crocus meant that they'd see each other occasionally.

Levy and Lucy had 'coffee and books time' every Tuesday. Gajeel hated coming along but would when Levy turned the puppy dog eyes on him. Particularly on days when they knew they'd be hitting the bookstores.

"I'm going to miss your research methodology."

"Aw. Thanks. That's the sweetest thing I've heard in a while. Though maybe you'll have to hunt down Freed."

"Huh?"

"Just a rumor I heard. That the Thunder Legion was in Bosco."

"Hm… Interesting."

The speaker blared to tell the passengers that they were in Verbascum.

"I've gotta go. I need to change trains, but I'll be in range of comms for the foreseeable future."

"Okay. Be careful."

Once she was settled onto the next train, she summoned Loke.

"Miss me?" he asked, sitting close to her despite there being plenty of room.

"Maybe I should just ask Grandpa Crux."

"Fine, fine," he said with a sulk. "What boring stuff can I help you with?"

"What happened to Anna?"

"I don't know. She summoned each of us with whatever silver keys she was bestowing on her students. She said that what she had to do…that whether she succeeded or failed, she couldn't take us with her. I was furious. Especially since the student she wished to have my key was male. She definitely did that on purpose.

"Why do you ask?"

"I had a dream about her. I think it was Draco's memory of her."

"Makes sense. He tried to imbue you with as much of his magic as he could before returning to the celestial realm."

"Do you think the dragons are still alive?"

She saw his eyes widen behind his glasses. "Maybe. There were a lot of bones down there though."

"She said they were going into hiding."

"Lucy, focus on one fool's errand at a time."

"I know. I know." She waved her hand absently. "I'm gonna sleep until we get to Autumn City. I want to be awake for the airship."

"Sweet dreams."

 **Originally-ish I had planned on mostly sticking with canon. Of course, I one, only started this because my roommate was getting supremely annoyed with me ranting that my ship didn't sail, and two, didn't know about the Pradeshes yet.**

 **As much as I love Mashima, he has a lot of plot holes. This is why I could never write for TV because I hate outlining. (Moffat has that problem too.) At the end of the Tower of Heaven arc, there's a scene that implies that Igneel is alive. My guess is that he nixed that idea later. I'm running with that. So, the fight between Igneel and Acnologia, that never happened.**

 **Also, what did Acnologia do for seven years? 'Cause yeah.**

 **If I'm just old and forgetting stuff (entirely possible) drop me a comment.**


	7. Chapter 7

**Hello, my pretties. Here's a really long chapter that I normally would split into three but I really wanted to post something in honor of Pradesh week even though I wasn't participating. Then work and grad school stuff happened.**

 **I own nothing. I'm kinda glad for that though. Copyright issues with my own stuff is a big enough migraine.**

Cristoff was walking away from the lab where he'd been helping some lunar mages, already planning on going to the school's pools to relax. Maybe enjoy some time with an attendant.

It wasn't uncommon for him to be asked to help with certain spell at the Acadame. As the lunar dragon slayer, his brand of lunar magic was more powerful than an average mage. The researchers would call on him if a spell wasn't working to see if he could cast it. Typically, if he couldn't cast it, that meant there was something wrong within the parameters of the spell. When that happened, like today, he'd stay at the Acadame to help out until he was needed elsewhere.

On his way down the familiar hallway, he'd heard humming in one of the libraries. It was the smallest of the three libraries and of the times that he'd been at the Acadame, he couldn't remember anyone being in that particular library. Also, when he'd paused, he noticed how his inner dragon seemed to perk up at the soft sound.

This time, he heard muttering.

"Damn library built for tall people and fucking heavy ladders and-" The expletive-laced rants made him laugh as his inner dragon seemed curious of the person saying them.

He didn't like the smell of the room. It was warded with special air purification to protect the ancient books held in that library. Those wards were why these books were housed separately.

The sound of the door opening surprised Lucy enough to jump slightly in her already precarious position leaning too far to the right on the ladder.

"Shit," she cursed, instinctively closing her eyes and hoping all those fights made her immune to the damage the unforgiving floor would cause. She cracked open an eye when she realized that she'd fallen into arms that were definitely larger than Loke's. Confirming that thought was the handsome face that she vaguely recognized from Sorcerer Weekly.

"If I'm dead, this isn't a half-bad heaven," she said, looking into the midnight blue eyes that reminded her of Draco's scales.

"You're not dead," Cristoff replied.

"Oh. Then it's probably okay for you to put me down."

"Right." He set her down, surprised at his own flustered reaction to her. She was beautiful, but it was her scent that was baffling. She smelled like stardust, like all celestial mages, and strawberries. The stardust smelled distinctive. Unique enough to stand alone amongst the stardust around the school.

"Thank you for that. Lucy Heartfilia, nice to meet you," she said, holding out her hand for him to shake.

"Cristoff Pradesh." He shook her hand, noting the pink fairy still residing on it.

"As in Arman Pradesh?"

"You know my father."

"He did some business with mine. Or rather my father tried to do business with him. I don't think he liked him. Then again, I'm not sure many people actually liked him after Mama died. Your brothers were the only non-vile potential husbands my father ever offered. I'm rambling. Sorry."

"It's fine. Here, let me get the book down for you."

The book was on a high enough shelf that even he, at 6'4", had to step onto the ladder to retrieve it. _The Language of Ancient Celestials_.

"This doesn't look like light reading."

"It's not. Thanks."

She was already flipping through the book and ignoring his presence. That wasn't a reaction he was used to. While he'd seen the blush when she'd realized that he'd caught her, she overall was nonplussed by him. Most Fioran women that he'd met were easily twitterpated by him. His brother's teammate being one of the exceptions.

"You're not a student, are you?" he asked, almost more to himself than to her. Her tan shorts and red tank top were already not typical Boscan clothing. Nor were they the blue and silvers that were mandatory of Acadame students.

"Uh no. I'm more of a researcher," she answered absently as she walked over to a table covered by books and scraps of paper.

He could appreciate when someone was busy and let himself out. Once out the door, he heard her sigh and repeatedly beat her head on the table.

"Virgo, next time, dig me a hole please," she muttered. He didn't smell a second person, so he guessed that she was speaking to her keys.

Using his comm, he called his brother as he headed to the bathhouse. "Hey, Bix. You know someone named Lucy Heartfilia?"

"Cosplayer? Yeah."

"She's at the Acadame Celestine. She'd also probably appreciate Freed's help."

"Oo. I'll be there tomorrow."

-oOo-

Lucy glanced up when someone entered the library. For two weeks, no one had bothered her. Now, for two days, people kept interrupting her peace. It took a moment for the two faces to process.

"Bickslow!" she squealed, launching herself and nearly knocking him over with her exuberant hug. "Freed!" She turned her attention to the green haired man. "What are you doing here?"

"I was born here. What are you doing here?" Bickslow retorted.

"You're Boscan?" she asked, ignoring his question.

"Yeah."

"How did you know I was here?"

"You met my brother yesterday. He saw your guildmark."

Lucy's eyes widened. There had only been one new face. "You're a Pradesh? Did I know that?"

Bickslow laughed. "Don't know. Did you?"

"I don't think I did. I'm sorry."

"No worries. I didn't really throw around my last name at the guild."

While they were talking, Freed had wandered over the table and was glancing through her haphazard notes. "You're looking for keys?"

"Yeah." She launched into a tirade about the lost keys and her search for information about them. As she and Freed are swapping ideas, Cristoff slipped into the room.

"What's with you?" Bickslow asked in a low voice.

"I don't know. My dragon acts weird around her."

Bickslow arched an eyebrow. "Is she your mate?"

"I don't know. I don't think so. It's almost like-" Cristoff trailed off.

"Like?"

"Like the first time I met Laxus. She feels… familiar." Speaking up, Cristoff asked, "Have you tried journals?"

"What?" Lucy said, looking at Cristoff.

"They keep the journals of old celestial mages and professors and such in this room. Have you tried to look at them?"

"Yeah. The only problem is that they're in one of the half-dozen variations of Old Boscan," Lucy said. "I learned Boscan as child but not any of the old languages."

"Well take what you need and let's go," Bickslow said. He gave Freed a confused look when the man made a sound like a cross between a scandalized squeak and gasp.

"The books in this room are ancient and are protected from the humidity of the Grass Sea," Lucy said, moving as if to protect them from her friend.

"I've got a better idea. Many of them, if not all, have probably been archived. You might even be able to find translations in the Pelerno archives," Cristoff said. "You should come with us."

"Where?"

"Home, Cosplayer," Bickslow said, guessing where Cristoff meant to go.

Lucy rubbed the guildmark on her hand. The valley with Draco had been home. Magnolia had been home. She wasn't sure how she felt about another 'home.' However, the dorms were noisy and crowded. And since she hadn't taken any jobs in a while, she didn't have the money to afford a place in town.

"Yeah. Okay."

-

The Pradesh Manor was every bit the large, sophisticated home that she'd imagined. It wasn't over the top like Konzern had been. It was stone, though, as they drove up, the differences in the stone showed where additions had been made as the family grew. It didn't have the gaudy statues and pillars, instead it had a simple staircase leading to two large wooden doors.

Inside, the foyer was small and quickly opened into a sitting room that was a mixture of formal while still looking comfortable. She imagined that there was a second room somewhere in the house where the family sat to be relaxed.

"Dad, we're here," Cristoff said when they entered. It wasn't overly loud, and Lucy had to remind herself that Arman was a sound mage and probably heard them from the moment the car had pulled into the driveway.

Arman Pradesh was every bit the figure she'd read about and remembered. As a Heartfilia, her father had insisted that she learn about all of the ambassadors on the Ishgar peninsula. Her father even ranked them in importance.

Arman ranked high in importance, but Jude also thought him a sap. However, Lucy had admired how he'd adopted children in memory of his wife. It was only with the perspective of age that she recognized the similarities in how each man loved their wives.

She'd met him, briefly, when she was fifteen. It was after runaway attempt number two. Her father had not been foolish enough not to recognize the timing between the marriage interview and her escape attempt. The Pradesh boys were near her in age and a trainline between Fiore and Bosco would be financially advantageous.

"Hello," Arman greeted, kissing her knuckles. Even without her saying so, he knew who she was. She looked too much like the portrait of her mother in her father's office not to be the Heartfilia child.

"Hello. I'm Lucy Heartfilia. It is a pleasure to meet you."

"We met briefly before." Arman gestured for them to sit. His statement had the rapt attention of his children who hadn't known that.

"Yes. You pissed my father off. It was rather impressive."

"How long after that did you run away again?"

"Successfully? Six months. Thank you for sending me Pyxis."

She saw the twinkle of mischievousness in his eyes confirming that she'd guessed right. The silver key had been sent anonymously and had been secreted to her by one of the maids before her father had found out. She'd waited for a few months, was on her best behavior, waiting for her father to give her an opening to run again.

"No idea what you're talking about."

"Maybe not, but I'm curious," Bickslow said, looking between his father and friend. "Come on, Cosplayer."

"My father tried to arrange a marriage between me and one of your brothers. Your father didn't approve. My father is very loud when he's angry. But it's damnedest thing, about a month later, I got Pyxis the Compass in mail."

"Gotta save 'em all," Cristoff said.

"Jude might have mentioned that his daughter was a celestial mage in his pitch. And I might have been in a store, saw the key, and remembered wishing there was something that I could do to help Lucy. Unfortunately, there wasn't anything technically illegal about trying to arrange marriages for business reasons."

"Like I said, thank you."

Arman nodded, letting the subject drop. "To what do I owe the pleasure of the company."

"We were looking for Farron actually," Cristoff said.

"I'm looking for the Ptolemaic Royalty keys. Except all of the primary sources are in Old Boscan and I can't read it. They said that Farron would likely be able to translate it for me."

"Oh, I'm sure he could, but I think I can do you one better."

Arman stood and led the group down the hall to his study. It was much like her father's office with floor to ceiling bookshelves and a large desk. However, she could see the differences. There were pieces of childhood artwork tucked amongst the books as well as at least a dozen pictures of the family.

For a moment, he hesitated in front of a second set of doors before opening them. Behind her, Bickslow and Cristoff both gasped. Neither had seen the doors opened before.

"This was Ganier's study. She was looking for those keys as well. After Farron was born, she decided that bringing the baby back and forth to and from Ceillis was too much.

"The only reason I entertained your father's offer was because you were a Heartfilia. However, I wasn't going to force my sons to marry someone that they didn't know. And when I offered to let you stay for a while… Well I'm not going to repeat what your father said about Boscan sexuality.

"We met while she was following a lead on the location of the keys. I hated the idea of her giving up her goals, so I had all of the books copied and she did most of the translations. Farron went through a period that he wanted to continue his mother's work, so the rest of the translations were his."

"Why didn't he?" Cristoff asked.

"He came to agree with his mother's hypothesis that only a female celestial wizard could find the keys. That it was part of the enchantment that Anna Heartfilia had put in place."

Lucy, who had been silent and a little in awe of the room, turned to Arman. "Thank you. This can't be easy for you."

"Actually, it is. She wouldn't want her research to go to waste. Though," he said, pretending that it was an afterthought, "if you married one of our sons then the keys would definitely stay in the family."

Lucy glanced at Cristoff and flushed red. "Let's shelf that idea."

"That's better than a no. Anyways, since I knew three of my children would be here, I called the rest. Emzadi is still on a job and Xally has a patient in surgery and wants to wait until he's out. But Kaleb and Vander will be here."

"I also called Laxus and Evergreen," Bickslow added.

Arman glanced at Lucy who he could hear had tuned them out and was already debating where to start first. "Go," he said gently, nudging her to the door. "Dinner's at seven. I'll have someone get you."

Her face lit up with a smile and she immediately went to work. Watching her immediately go to work already had him debating offering her a job as his assistant.

 _Yes_ , he mused. _There's a lot of ways to keep her in Bosco._

-

Kaleb's favorite part about going home was not needing to entirely shut off his magic. Instead, his family's thoughts were a faint hum in the background that was almost as comforting as simply being home.

Laxus and Evergreen had just beaten him there and were already conspiring with Bickslow on the best way to surprise Lucy. Mr. Elan was cooking, excited for a new person to impress. His father was working though Kaleb could also hear the side thoughts of him considering who was best suited for the celestial mage. It was Cristoff's thoughts that were the strangest.

His brother was in the sitting room across the hall from the office that Lucy was in. When Kaleb arrived in the doorway, Cristoff had a book in his lap as if he intended to pretend to read instead of glare.

"Is there a particular reason your glaring that hard?" he asked. He could poke into his surface thoughts but preferred to avoid doing that to family. Kaleb sat down across from his brother and pulled his gaze away from the wall.

"Lucy Heartfilia."

"I'm aware of our new guest. You should hear dad's thoughts on the matter. What I'm failing to understand is this reaction to her. It isn't like you."

"My dragon reacts to her."

Kaleb's eyes widened. "As in she's your mate?"

"No. I don't know. It's never happened. The closest comparison is when Em was brought home and I met Laxus. It was like kin but not."

"Have you thought to ask Laxus about it?"

"Didn't he just get here with Evergreen?"

"Now's as good a time as any."

"Are you going to talk to her?"

"Yeah. Dad asked me to get one of the tablets from the guild. He figures it'll make her research easier."

"All right. There's something off about her. Bickslow vouches for her. And I can see how she is around Freed. But-" Cristoff trailed with a series of incoherent grumbles.

Kaleb chuckled. Bickslow's feelings towards the girl were somewhere between brotherly and wishing they didn't have such a sibling relationship.

There was an entrance from the hall to the study where Lucy was, but he decided to go into his father's office instead. His father was working in the main living room, trying to give her time to adapt. It also allowed him a moment to silently observe her.

Her surface thoughts surprised him. She was making both a mental and physical annotated bibliography as she quickly skimmed through books with her wind reader glasses. The only people he'd ever known to think this way was Farron and Freed. If they weren't already in a relationship, she'd have given Freed a run for his money as far as attracting his brother.

It took him a moment to realize that she was doing that because she entirely expected them to kick her out, so she wanted to have a narrowed down list of pertinent books to revisit and translate.

"Sorry to interrupt."

"Shit!" she squealed, jumping and dropping the book as she turned to look at the man.

 _Holy powdered donut…_ she thought. Her eyes roved over Kaleb's impressive form. Like his brother, Cristoff, he was tall and muscular. His long, white-blond hair was loosely braided over his shoulder. She didn't think she had a thing for lavender eyes but looking into his definitely made her question that assumption.

"I didn't mean to frighten you," he said, appreciating the view she provided. However, he vaguely remembered Evergreen thinking something similar about him the first time they met.

 _Evergreen, what's the significance of being called a 'powdered donut'?_ he asked, keeping his family from being privy to his question. That didn't stop her bark of laughter followed by confusion from her team.

"No. It's fine. You know, you were the cause of a riot at Sorcerer Weekly," Lucy said, picking up and mentally apologizing to the book.

 _I'm guessing you're with Lucy._

 _Yes._

 _A lot of alcohol during a girls' night led to creation of a ranking system of sexiness. 'Powdered donut' is the highest._

"How so?" he asked, a hint of a smile curling his lips.

"Just after I started, they were doing a special on you and White Sea. There was a fight over who would go."

"You didn't participate."

"I'd just started as a model."

"That, I would like to see," a voice said, soon accompanied by a body stepping out of the shadows with a lecherous smile that part of her recognized from Bickslow.

"Lucy kick!" she yelled, shifting away enough to get enough space for a decent side kick. He flew, disappeared into the shadows before crashing into a wall and appearing behind Kaleb.

"That is an impressive kick," the shadow mage said.

"This is my brother, Vander," Kaleb supplied.

 _Is this whole family full of powdered donuts?_ she thought, ogling the man with leather that looked painted on. He had wine-colored eyes that nearly matched the streak of red in his black hair. Built more like Bickslow, he was tall and lithe with impressively fast reflexes.

 _Can I get a cavity from all of them being hot? If I can, can Cristoff fix it or would that just cause more trouble?_

She glanced at Kaleb who was doing a poor job of concealing his amusement. _Wasn't he some sort of telepath?_

He nodded. She let a long string of curses then hid her thoughts behind elevator music. That, he acknowledged, was impressive.

"I brought this to help with your research," Kaleb said, pulling out the tablet from his bag. The distrust in her brown eyes as she glanced between the device and his face didn't seem congruent with the stories Bickslow told him.

"Why?"

"It's connected to the archives as well as you'd be able to reach out to other script mages within White Sea for help."

"That's very kind, but I think I'll pass."

Kaleb stepped closer to her, ignoring his little brother's squawk of warning. "Lucy, no one's going to kick you out. You're welcome here for as long as you wish. Longer, if you offer Dad grandbabies. Preferably not donuts."

Lucy smacked his arm but what he found curious was the way that her muscles flexed, showing that she pulled back at last second.

"I'm assuming it's dinner time, right?"

"Almost." Kaleb stepped past her to leave the tablet on the tablet before walking back out to lead her to the dining room.

 _She's an interesting one_ , Vander thought, trailing behind Lucy and sending Kaleb his view of her butt.

Kaleb stored the image away before doing a deeper dive into her mind. As a general rule, he avoided going deeper than temporary thoughts as they flitted across the mind.

Most people's minds were organized like a warehouse full of boxes. Sometimes they were neatly shelved and labeled. Other times, it was a haphazard mess.

Emzadi's was a massive closet with hangers holding most memories while dragons protected the dressers. Cristoff's was the clearing where he'd grown up with Nurem but Kaleb imagined with more rocks. Farron's was a library. Kaleb avoided Vander's who had somehow designed his mental palace to look like a carnival, complete with clowns.

Lucy's was a street lined with shops. It was crowded with people and as he tried to move around them, he realized that each person was a thought that she was suppressing to keep him out of her mind.

 _Color me impressed_ , he mused.

"Hey, Blondie," Laxus greeted.

Lucy let out a shriek of excitement that reverberated through her mind and forced him out temporarily. After giving him a hug, she kicked him into a wall.

"What the fuck was that for?" Laxus demanded. Lucy ignored him to gush over how good Evergreen looked in her Boscan outfit.

"What was that for?" Laxus repeated, standing over Lucy as if she could be intimidated. When she whirled around with her hands on her hips, it was apparent that she wasn't impressed with the static around him.

"That was for shocking Mia when she tried to ask about you joining White Sea. It sure as hell wasn't her fault that one of the biggest teams in Fairy Tail moving to Bosco is kind of a big deal."

"Whatever," Laxus said, grumbling and moving to sulk in a chair.

"Um, hello. It seems like I'm the last one you've met."

Lucy had never met Farron but he'd been featured prominently in her lessons when he became an ambassador at such a young age. He'd also been her father's preference as a Pradesh suitor. Like his brothers, he was tall but leaner like Vander. His mahogany hair was long and braided and his baby blue eyes watched her curiously.

"Hi. Sorry about that but he kinda deserved it."

"Stay on her good side, Bro," Bickslow said in a faux-whisper.

"Bixy," she said in a honeyed voice that made the seith mage nervous.

"Yeah…" he said slowly as a decorative pillow, expertly aimed, hit him in the face.

"We _need_ to play discus together," Vander said.

"I'm not playing against her," Bickslow said.

As the conversation devolved into an arguing match over teams that Lucy hadn't agreed to, Kaleb started to go back into her mental palace. Since she was no longer actively trying to keep him out of her mind, the street was less crowded.

She'd noticed how close Farron and Freed were sitting. From what his father had said about hers, he'd expected some condemnation. Instead she was mildly surprised that Freed had it in him to get over Laxus.

Once he'd gotten past the crowded streets, he realized that her mind was exceptionally organized for being over active. The shops represented different memories like a bookstore for all the books she'd read. Fairy Tail had darkened windows from her trying to suppress her thoughts concerning her guild. Even the store front concerning her family seemed to be in better condition.

One shop gave him pause. It was boarded up like when a new business moved into a storefront but didn't want anyone to know what they were doing inside. Kaleb reached for the door only to find it locked.

Lucy jumped. She'd settled on the couch between Evergreen and Bickslow.

"Are you all right?" Evergreen asked.

"Yeah."

 _That's not very polite_ , she thought, knowing that the mindbender would hear her.

 _Just curious. Though the fact that you could sense me in your mind palace is impressive._

 _Then just ask._

 _What's hiding in there?_

 _Ask anything but that._

While both Lucy and Kaleb were engaged in the conversation, Farron could hear the faint whispers of the mental conversation. Not enough to distinguish words but enough to know it was happening. He made a mental note to ask Kaleb about it later.

"Dinner's ready," Arman said, pausing to look between Lucy, Cristoff, and Kaleb. As the group moved into the dining room, he grabbed his two sons and whispered, "Don't go scaring her off. I have plans for her."

 _Is Dad planning on staging his own version of The Bachelorette with us?_ Cristoff asked Kaleb.

 _Yup._

 _Great…_


	8. Chapter 8

**At the rate you guys have me motivated to write, I'm gonna have a chapter every other day. Now, if only I can channel that into my publishable stuff…**

Lucy decided the following morning that for as long as she was allowed, she was never leaving the Pradesh home and Mr. Elan's cooking.

"This is amazing," she said, resisting the urge to moan. Breakfast was strawberry and chocolate scones with the best brewed cup of coffee she'd ever had. "I'm never leaving."

"I'm okay with that. Especially if it includes grandbabies," Arman said. "You with any of my children would make such lovely babies."

Her face was so red that she wondered if smoke was coming out her ears. "Do you give Ever this much trouble?"

Arman sighed with a little sulk. "No. I can appreciate her reasoning for not wanting to date one of her teammate's brothers. You, however, do not seem to have a similar issue."

"I just- There's too much on my plate as it stands. There's the keys and after that- I don't know."

"Take some advice from an old man, there's always a new quest. There's always a new reason to use to talk yourself out of dating. Don't let it flit away because of hang ups. People have spent their entire lives searching for those keys. Be like Ganier, not her mentor who died alone with his notes."

"Hi, Mr. Pradesh. Mr. Elan let me in," Freed greeted, entering the informal dining room. "Hi, Lucy."

"Call me Arman," he grumbled for what Lucy imagined was the hundredth time.

"Hey, Freed. Thanks for coming."

"I'm looking forward to some good research."

"You have strange things that you look forward to," Lucy said with a lightly teasing tone.

"Hey, Dad," Bickslow said, dropping into a chair and helping himself to a scone. "Lucy."

"Bixy."

He watched as Lucy left, his eyes glowing as he studied her soul.

"How is she?" Arman asked.

"There's some darkness. I can't tell from what though. There's also some strength that was not there before."

"Will she heal?"

"With that beautiful heart of hers? I have no doubt."

"Hey, Dad," Emzadi greeted when her father called her.

"Hello, Em. Will you be home for dinner? I'm rather enjoying having everyone here."

"Yeah. We should be landing around six. So, what's this I hear about Bixy's guildmate and the bachelorette?"

"Is that how your brothers are describing it?" Arman asked, chuckling.

"You're really trying to set them up with her?"

"Is that jealousy? She is your type when you favor girls, but that doesn't happen often."

"I'm not jealous. I suppose I'm gonna need to get popcorn with Xally and Ever."

"How's the research coming?" Cristoff asked, setting down some cookies and tea from Mr. Elan.

"Ugh," Lucy said, dramatically flopping onto the table.

"Where are you getting stuck?" he asked, settling into a chair.

Lucy stared at him. She hated the suspiciousness that welled up in her. Freed was predictable. He liked research and knowledge. It wasn't kind to assume that Cristoff wouldn't be interested in something like celestial keys just because nobody else ever seemed to be. She refused to meet Freed's confused gaze.

"We know Anna, my ancestor, hid the keys," Lucy said finally. "She disappeared a few years afterwards. In four hundred years, nobody's gotten close."

"What about journals and such?"

"We have a lot of the contemporaneous journals from when the school was founded. It looks like the early professors want to ensure their knowledge was passed down. However, the point of the punishment was to make it difficult for anyone to find the keys so there's no sign of Anna telling anyone where they were," Freed answered.

"If Anna had no children, who carried on the Heartfilia name?"

"Her niece, Tamia."

"Anything from her here?"

Lucy shook her head. "I know she died in Fiore."

"There's a few mentions of a Tamia H. and a Valenca K.," Freed said, digging through one of the stacks of books. Once he found the pertinent page, he flipped it to show Lucy.

"It sounds like they were best friends." She continued to flip through the book. It wasn't one of the journals but instead was published around a decade after the Acadame had opened. "It looks like Valenca K. was a spellcraft professor."

"They definitely would have kept her journals since there's probably spells in them," Cristoff said.

Lucy turned and smiled at him. "Thank you."

"Glad to help. Though, why don't we take a break before dinner. Emzadi should be here soon. Xally too."

"So Lucy. Have you been to the bathhouses yet? I'm sure an attendant would help with some of those kinks. I mean, I could too if I'm more your speed," Vander teased. His finger ran along the bottom of her chin.

"Knock it off, Van. She's too-" Bickslow started to say.

"Too what? Not a virgin."

"What?" Bickslow coughed on the Boscan whiskey that went down the wrong pipe. Laxus slapped him on the back with a disgruntled expression. "Who?"

"Who else, idiot," Evergreen said, smacking him with her fan.

"Natsu? He knew where to stick it?"

"I don't want to think about that," Laxus muttered.

Lucy giggled and turned her best sultry expression to Vander. "So, you see, I don't know if you could satisfy me. After all, my last lover _was_ a dragon slayer."

"Nice," Evergreen said, both women laughing at the mutual shock on Vander and Bickslow's face.

Cristoff was watching Lucy. No one noticed the flicker of pain on her face. _Correction_ , he thought when he heard a low growl from Laxus. Catching the other slayer's eye, he nodded his head towards the door.

"Bix has mentioned she's hiding a lot of pain behind those smiles. Do you think whatever obviously happened with Natsu was part of it?"

"Probably," Laxus acknowledged. "There was a running bet on whether they'd get together. By the time I rejoined the guild, they had started sleeping together so I claimed her as kin. It never even occurred to me that he might not have claimed her as his mate."

"Does she know that dragons mate for life?"

"I don't know. And honestly, he's such an idiot that I wouldn't put it past him to forget that he actually has to mate and not just have sex."

"Hello, Cris," Emzadi greeted, kissing his cheek. "And hello, Laxus," she said with a flirty smile and a not so chaste kiss on the lips. "So let's meet Lucy."

"Hey, Lucy," Laxus said.

Emzadi froze when her eyes met Lucy's.

"Oh fuck," Lucy muttered.

Before she could react, Lucy jumped up. "Celestial meteor," she said then used its speed to run past the slayers in the doorway and into the front drive. "Open, gate of the dragon."

Draco's mark manifested as a large, blue tattoo on Lucy's arm and shoulder. She felt her canines changing and heard the sound of the car carrying Xally and Kaleb driving up the road.

Emzadi roared and trailed after her. For a moment, the two women stared at each other. The rest of the mages had followed, expecting to have to save Lucy. Instead, they froze when Lucy released an echoing roar.

Emzadi's first roar had been anger at the intrusion of another female dragon slayer in her territory. Despite the fact that her celestial dragon slaying was obscured by her own magic, women always sensed each other. Especially two potential queens. Lucy's roar was an acknowledgment. The rolling growl afterwards told Emzadi that Lucy wouldn't back down.

Deciding that protecting Lucy took precedence to understanding what was happening, Laxus grabbed ahold of Emzadi and held her tight to his chest. Laxus couldn't resist the urge to echo Lucy's second growl. In it, Emzadi felt the magic of the other two dragon slayers that had also claimed Lucy as kin and stopped struggling.

"Um…what's going on?" Xally said.

In the midst of trying to understand what was happening between Lucy and Emzadi, no one had noticed Kaleb and Xally arrive.

"No kidding," Vander said, still looking between the two women. "Though, that growl was kinda hot."

"I should probably reintroduce myself. Hi. I'm Lucy Heartfilia, the celestial dragon slayer," Lucy said with a slight wave and a half-sheepish, half-shit eating grin.

 **The mind palace is a memory technique. (Yup, it's a real thing.) The best-known pop culture reference is Sherlock. I just expanded on it.**

 **When I first started this, NaLu was endgame. And then I found Desna's Pradesh family. I have absolutely no real plans for who the ultimate OTP for this will be. I'm leaning towards an ultimately sibling relationship between Lucy and Cristoff but keep in mind that in this version, Draco had no part in Cristoff's upbringing besides being Nurem's mate. At best, they're step-siblings. It's feeling very** ** _Drive Me Crazy._**

 **So yeah, I changed the rating. Mostly because I got really tired of worrying that someone would report me for saying penis or cursing. 'Cause I curse a lot. Also, it's probably going to get gory. Though I promise you, there will be no lemons because I'm gonna be frank, nobody wants to read my sex scenes cause they're really bad. Like my writing partner had to write them all in our novel. Generally, I'm a New A or YA author so it's not really an issue.**


	9. Chapter 9

**As always, I'm grateful that I own nothing.**

Plates had been filled. Drinks poured. But silence dominated the room as they stared expectantly at Lucy.

"Okay," she said, took a sip of wine and proceeding to tell her. She told them about Yukino finding Draco. That only one of the descendants of the first zodiac keyholders could become a dragon slayer. She told them about training then the mission where she used her first dragon's roar.

When she got to the part about the Celestial King asking her to find the Royalty Keys, she hedged about the offer to give her Aquarius. She heard Kaleb's sharp intake of air and knew he'd seen her memories of breaking her key to summon the Celestial King to save her guild. He understood why she forced the guild in her mind palace dark.

 _Stay out of my head_.

 _You should tell them._ He paused. _And thank you. For saving my brother._

Lucy was still telling them about the research for the keys, but everyone knew she was having a silent conversation with Kaleb. While he had a poker face, she didn't. The expressions that flickered with the underlying annoyance didn't fit what she was saying.

 _No. I don't need their pity when they don't understand._

 _Then tell them everything. Tell them your history with her. You sacrificed the closest thing you've had to a mother to save them. They deserve to understand your pain and you deserve to express it._

He sent her back her own memories of raging at the people she thought cared about her. The memories of her getting so mad that she tore her notes and the map off the wall. Of the spending days having to place everything back and mend the pictures and notes with tape.

"Stop it!" Lucy yelled, standing up and slamming her hands on the table. "You want me to say something, fine." She turned to her old guildmates. "When you were all trapped by Tartarus, I broke Aquarius's key to save everyone. I broke the key to my oldest friend to save all of you and you left! You all abandoned me. I was in Magnolia for a week! Alone." That last word was a whimper.

She turned directly to Laxus and angrily wiped her eyes. "I thought for sure you'd rebuild the guild. You'd tried so hard to earn our respect after we got back from Tenrou. At least Wendy and Gajeel bothered to check on me. Chelia came for Wendy. They both tried to get me to go with them. Gajeel too. He was offered a job as an enforcer for the Magic Council. I sacrificed someone so precious to me…I didn't think you'd all leave like that."

"Lucy." Laxus started to stand but Bickslow stopped him and shook his head. He wouldn't let Laxus try to follow her out either.

Both Kaleb and Cristoff stood. "Let me go," Cristoff said. "At the moment, I think that you're part of the problem."

He found her easily enough and silently led her to a large tree with a circular bench around it.

"I shouldn't have yelled," she said after a few minutes.

"Yes, you should have. Sometimes you need to yell. And scream. Sometimes people are assholes without realizing it. And maybe, instead of trying to make yourself something that you're not, let yourself be soft and cry. No one will judge you for that."

Lucy launched herself into Cristoff's lap, mumbling an apology at how hard she landed, and cried into his chest. She stayed there until her sobs devolved into hiccups. He was humming a song. It was a celestial lullaby that her mother had sung.

"In the deep blue of the night shine the millions of stars and my spirit burning bright," Lucy sang, not bothering to cringe at how raspy her voice sounded. "Spinning on into the sun. Flying higher, now my journey's begun."

Cristoff stopped humming and sang the words with her. "And the cold, cold wind, it blows me away. The feeling all over is a black, black day. But I know that I'll see you again. And I know that you're near me."

"Of course, you can sing. Is there anything the men in this family can't do?" Lucy grumbled.

"Make a souffle," he said after a few seconds. It took her a few seconds to process his response before laughing. The sound made him preen. "Not to rush you, but are you ready to go back inside?"

As if to answer that question, her stomach grumbled. "Yeah. Thank you for coming after me." Before she could stand on her own, he stood, lifting her with him, before setting her back down on her feet.

"I will as long as you need me too."

 _We're headed back in_ , Cristoff said, directing the thought to Kaleb. _I'd advise not bringing it up just yet._

 _All right. I'll have Mr. Elan reheat your food._

"I appreciate that," Lucy said.

"Though, eventually you'll have a mate. Em will-"

"A wha' now?" Lucy asked, stopping.

"What? Your mate? All dragon slayers mate for life. Didn't Draco tell you that?"

"No, he didn't." A golden aura appeared around her. She hadn't tried summoning Draco since she'd left the valley except to manifest her dragon slayer abilities.

"What are you doing?"

"Getting ready to slay a dragon. Open, gate of the dragon, Draco."

 _Uh…change of plans._

He wasn't entirely sure what to expect but a dragon the size of a large dog was not on the list. Draco's wings were tucked into his body. He could see the spots of the stars along his scales and they seemed to shift as he did.

"Really, you damn dragon. You chose this form."

"You wouldn't kick me when I'm this small, would you?" She knew that he'd sensed her anger when she summoned him and deliberately chose this size.

"What's this about me having a mate?"

Draco turned and growled at Cristoff. "You told her?"

Cristoff chuckled. "Sorry, but you're not particularly intimidating at that size."

"Oi! Stop ignoring me. I did not run away from home, deal with Phantom Lord, and all the other shit that got me here for three hags to decide my destiny for me. I will decide-"

"You didn't explain it to her?" Draco asked.

"I didn't get a chance to."

"Stop-"

"You pick your mate!" Draco and Cristoff yelled before she could start a new tirade.

"I do?" she asked deflating.

"Yes. I didn't say anything because you hadn't bonded with the magic enough to take a mate yet. I was glad when you said your first stop was Bosco. I'd hoped you'd meet Nurem's son. I was about to ask her to reach out to him when you finally did meet."

Lucy glanced at Cristoff who nodded.

"Taking a mate is needed as part of the dragon's soul. However, you're my slayer and I don't have a soul in the traditional sense, so you may never develop a dragon's soul. I am a celestial spirit first and Nurem's mate second. It's why Acnologia never found me. It's also why you have to summon me to trigger your slayer abilities."

"That doesn't sound balanced," Lucy said.

"It is. You'll understand in time." He stopped and his eyes narrowed. "You've had a long day and need your rest."

When he said that, she began to notice the fuzziness around the edges of her vision. She sighed when she felt the pressure of Draco's summoning disappear though she swayed on her feet slightly.

"Here," Cristoff said, touching her forehead and healing the headache. "Let's get some food in you."

She smiled. "Thanks."

"Will you apologize to everyone when we get inside?" he asked as they neared the house.

"Yeah. It's just- Kaleb gets into my head and I don't like it."

"It's his magic. He means well."

"It's intrusive. I've had people telling me how I should think and behave my entire life. Yeah, a lot of it's done with the best intentions, but the road to hell is paved with good intentions. So much of my experiences with my team started as good intentions. That doesn't change the broken bones or the fact that I was always broke. It's bad enough being judged by my appearance but-" She laughed slightly. "I don't even know where I was going with that sentence."

"Why not tell him all of that?"

She gave him a side-eyed look. "I thought I was. You're relaying everything, after all."

"Huh?"

She made an up gesture near her mouth. "Your inflection changes when you're trying to maintain the two conversations."

Cristoff stopped and stared at her with unabashed awe. "You should do spy work with Vander."

"Hm…maybe after I get these keys."

 **I kinda wish I owned that song. It's "Across the Universe of Time" by Hayley Westenra. I also wish my poor alto vocals could hit those notes.**


	10. Chapter 10

**A day may come when my words fail, when I forsake my story and break all bonds of fellowship, but it is not this day. This day I write!**

 **Okay, I own neither Lord of the Rings nor Fairy Tail but I thought of it and it seemed fitting. Also I should write that somewhere in my writing corner.**

"Can we talk about what happened with Em earlier?" Vander asked once everyone was back inside and settled at the table. "Particularly what it would take for Starfire to growl like that again."

"I don't know. I kinda just followed my gut," Lucy said with a grateful grin at him.

"My guess," Cristoff said, "is that Em first recognized an unfamiliar dragon slayer and reacted. Since dragons are matriarchal, both Lucy and Em could be Queens. My guess, since I know Lucy has been around more dragon slayers, how many have claimed you as kin?"

"Including Laxus, three: Wendy and Gajeel."

"A queen without kin can't rule. Em's only kin is me since she likes sleeping with Laxus too much," Cristoff said.

"You two?" Lucy said.

Emzadi shrugged. "Dragon stamina. By the way, I'm claiming her as kin so hands off." Her glare was directed at Vander who held his hands up. "It occurs to me that we definitely need to take you shopping," she said, glancing at her clothes.

Lucy perked up then remembered, "I definitely don't have enough money left for that."

"You know, I have some secretarial work that I could some help with," Arman said. "Why don't you go shopping tomorrow morning and work for me for a few hours in the afternoon?"

"Dad," Emzadi whined. "That's going to limit how much time we can shop."

 _Be glad. She'd have you out past midnight at least_ , Kaleb told Lucy.

"I appreciate the offer. Thank you."

While Emzadi sulked, Xally and Evergreen began to gush about their favorite shops that they'd need to stop by tomorrow. Zander would chime in with requests to judge Evergreen and Lucy in lingerie. Xally flicked water at him but Arman stopped before a full-blown food fight could start.

"Can we go back to you sleeping with Flamebreath?" Bickslow asked. "Losing your virginity to him couldn't have been pleasant. I'm Boscan. You could've asked me."

"One, I didn't know you were Boscan. And two, I lost it to Loke." Her former guildmates all made a sound of shock. "What?"

"Loke? That's Leo, right?" Cristoff asked.

When Lucy nodded, Arman said, "That makes sense."

"How does that make sense?" Emzadi asked.

"Celestial mages often lose their virginity to their spirits. I hadn't put much thought into it until Loke became contracted to me. We talked about it and he's a flirt so naturally he agreed."

"Your mother's first was Orion," Arman added.

"Oh, I've heard he's good. Almost all of his contracts are here in Bosco."

Arman nodded. "All Sudehpah based in Cellis have to be contracted to a human-based celestial spirit."

"Why do you think I avoid Cellis?" Vander chimed in.

"Oh, so you only bed virgins when it can cause an international crisis?" Farron asked.

"I only did that- how many times did I do that?"

"Too many," Arman, Farron, and Kaleb said at the same time.

"Raise your hand if you think he'll do it again," Emzadi said in a not subtle voice. Everyone raised their hands and after a few seconds, Vander did too.

With the exception of the women, Arman, and Kaleb, everyone went home. Kaleb defended his choice to crash in his old room by saying he wasn't in the mood to ask Cristoff to jump him to White Sea when Cristoff was going to his apartment in Pelerno. Arman gave him a 'I don't buy that' smile before heading off.

"Lucy," Kaleb said, catching her before she headed upstairs with the others. While Evergreen shot her a curious look, his two sisters didn't glance his way. "I wanted to say I'm sorry."

"Thank you." The two had wandered out to the balcony off the dining room. He couldn't help but muse that she was beautiful under the stars.

"I have the best intentions."

"I know, but it's still manipulative. Have you ever judged somebody not by their thoughts but by their actions?" She saw the flicker of uncertainty. "In one of your interviews, you said you came into your powers as a child. And then there's the Immaculate Light that I'm not even going to pretend to understand.

"I think the thoughts we act on are far more important than the ones that we don't. I'm sure you have thoughts that you don't act on because you know they wouldn't be appropriate." She smiled. It was a dangerous mischievous smile that was too familiar to Vander's for his comfort. "You know, I think at least twenty impossible things a day. And every day I think, I'm gonna make three of these possible." She inhaled with a slight shrug. "Now most of the time I don't succeed. But would you judge me harshly for those impossible things?"

She directed a thought at him. It was from her viewpoint but was of him in bed naked. Though there wasn't any real context to the thought, he knew how they'd ended up there. She followed it up with a few other thoughts. Most were during sex. Some he'd heard the night before, but some were new.

He stepped forward, cupped her jaw, and looked into her eyes. "Share pleasure with me?"

She smiled. "No." Despite her words, she continued to bombard him with images.

"Is that an indefinite no or a finite one?" His voice was husky and the thoughts she provided were arousing.

"It's an impossible thought to be shelved for the time being. Besides," she said, dancing out of his grip, "I have a long day tomorrow and I need my beauty sleep."

He was about to collapse, knowing that the closest bathhouse was already closed for the night.

She stepped back into the doorway. "By the way, there's an author named Sherri Ken who used you and your brothers as inspiration for her deliciously erotic novels. Complete with fanart." She sent him a few images with scenes and left with an almost devilish giggle. Then, because she was feeling particularly evil, she also sent him fanart of his brothers as well.

-oOo-

Lucy and Evergreen collapsed onto the couches in the first living room, not caring where they dropped their bags. Xally looked exhausted as well but was doing infinitely better than the other two. Emzadi was the only one that wasn't exhausted. She'd insisted on dragging them to a dozen stores with the reminder that they had to be back by one. Nor did she seem to care about the sheer volume of clothes.

"Here," Xally said, bringing them glasses of water.

"Why do you not look ready the keel over?" Evergreen said crankily.

"I'm used to Em's shop 'til you drop-a-thons. You should've seen the one right after I got back from the university. I ended up calling Cris."

"Ah. I was hoping to avoid this," Arman said with a chuckle.

"Oh! I'll be up there-" Lucy tried to bounce up- "as soon as I can feel my legs."

"It's all right. I'm sure it won't take much time."

It took a few minutes and she still had jelly legs, but she made it to his office. The doors to her temporary study were closed since she'd decided to use the hall door. When she'd asked about the two doors, Arman told her he'd had them done when he and Ganier were first married so that even when they were working, they weren't far apart.

In the center of the room, were four large boxes filled with envelopes. "I'm going to have you sort the requests for my sons."

"These are all requests?" She knew that arranged marriages were illegal in Bosco, it didn't mean that potential suitors or their parents wouldn't send requests in the hope that a spark might happen.

He gestured to the labels on each. "For Farron's, just copy the address onto an envelope and add the note saying that he's Promised. For Kaleb's, unless you recognize the name as being prestigious, toss it. Otherwise, send the thank you but not at this time. Personally, I think he should consider them, but he's refused. Cristoff's are a bit more complicated. Since he'll eventually mate, he tries to meet all of them to see if his dragon is interested. He's convinced his mate will be a mage so unless it's explicitly said that the potential is a mage, toss it. Everyone gets a letter."

"What does his letters say?"

"That he's at the Pelerno guildhall the last Tuesday of every month and to understand that as a dragon slayer he's looking for a mate. And a reminder that he's in high demand and therefore might be called away on a mission."

"So, he goes to see if his dragon shares his interest?"

"Yes. And lastly, Vander. If it's not Boscan, toss it. If it is, send them a letter that says he's not looking to settle down but if they're interested in sharing pleasure for a night, send back a letter with a star in the corner of the envelope and he might get back to you if he's interested. Set aside any that I might have missed the stars."

She nodded and started sorting Vander's first. "Does he ever respond?"

"He has no problem attracting lovers, but I know occasionally he gets curious about them. Mostly, he just thinks they're boring.

"What happened between you and my son last night?"

Lucy flushed and took a few minutes to decide if she really wanted to have this conversation with him. "We mostly talked about why I didn't like him intruding on my thoughts."

"Mhm. And the reason why he felt the need to go to the bathhouse just after sunrise?"

"He asked me to share pleasure," she mumbled.

Arman heard her perfectly. At first, he was ecstatic until he realized that the only reason Kaleb would have searched out an attendant was if he'd been rejected. "You said no?" Then, more to himself, he added, "That has to be a first."

"You know where are Em's and Xally's requests?"

He chuckled and let her change the subject. "They prefer to take of their own letters."

They continued to talk as they worked. It is half him needling for information on which of his sons was her favorite. The other half was her bouncing ideas off him concerning potential leads as well as book ideas.

"Some friends from Fiore are visiting for a bit. I already talked to Cristoff and he said we could stay in one of the White Sea apartments for a few days."

"Feel free to bring them over."

"I appreciate that. They're coming to help me do research and bring some stuff from Fiore."

Lucy was nearly done with the last box, Kaleb's box, when she said, "You've been trying to set me up with one of your sons. Why ask me to do this?"

Arman stood, walked over to her, and squatted so that he was at her eyelevel. "Your last lover left your bed." She gasped. "You didn't say anything or think it for Kaleb could hear. It was an educated guess. I don't know which one you'll choose or even if you actually will choose one, but with my sons, it won't be because they had no other options. It'll be because you were the only option that mattered." He pulled the envelope out of her hand and replaced it with one heavy with her payment.

"This feels like a lot," Lucy said, not counting it.

"I'm not taking it back," he said in a sing-song voice. "Go hang out with my daughters and let them convince to become their sister-in-law."

She giggled and stood. Before leaving, she glanced at the three boxes.

 **Any guesses on who's visiting? And yes, I made a Dark Hunters joke but come on. I couldn't resist. (I also really don't own Dark Hunters. Sherrilynn Kenyon does.)**


	11. Chapter 11

**"** ** _Writing became such a process of discovery_** **that I couldn't wait to get to work in the morning: I wanted to know what I was going to say." ~Sharon O'Brien**

 **As always, I own nothing.**

Bickslow stood behind Lucy as she practically vibrated with excitement. It didn't help that her Boscan outfit left little to the imagination. It was a light grey, translucent sarong over blue shorts and a blue bra. She'd been propositioned three times already. One, she'd actually put in her contacts because she didn't have time at the moment.

"You've taken to Bosco well," Bickslow commented.

"Hm? Oh, thanks. It's not hard. Do what you enjoy and don't be an asshole about it."

He chuckled. "That's a good way of looking at it."

She glanced up at him and started to respond but noticed the commercial skyship beginning to make its descent. "That's the right one, right? Come on."

He was almost disappointed that she was dragging him behind her though he shot a few glares at men that were appreciating her bouncing chest. A view that he would've liked to see.

They saw Gajeel first which wasn't surprising. The sun reflected off the studs in his face and he seemed to be carrying both bags.

"Levy!"

"Lulu!"

The two women ran to each other and clasped hands.

"Am I the only one that sees the glitter and flowers and shit around them when they do that?" Bickslow asked Gajeel.

"Nope. Every single time. I don't even get a greeting."

"Hi, Gaj," Lucy said, popping up next to him.

"Hey, Bunny Girl. Somewhere around here there's another asshole that got dragged along."

"It was this or he was likely to get arrested," Levy whispered.

"Shudup, Bookworm," another, cranky voice said. Lucy glanced at the familiar dragon slayer. She arched an eyebrow at him and he grudgingly opened his arms up so that she could hung him. "Hey, Tink. Is that _Carmen_?"

"Yup." She was thinking about one of the few more pleasant memories with her father. He'd insisted that they go to the opera. It had been more about rubbing elbows with the who's who, but it had been a nice time. Followed by a fancy dinner.

Cobra snorted as he caught the memory as if shifted to her splashing wine in the face of a baron that tried groping her under the table. Her father had not been pleased.

"That's priceless."

"No. According to Father, that was 500j glass of Minstrellan wine."

"You don't mind him being in your head, but you mind Bro," Bickslow commented.

"He's earned the right to be there. Besides, he has less control over the matter."

"Ouch," Cobra said, placing his hand on his heart and pretending to be wounded.

"Where's Lily?" Lucy asked, looking around.

"He decided to visit the Exceeds," Gajeel said.

"He doesn't like flying in the airships," Levy whispered. "We had to catch one to Minstrel to pick up some books. He was not a fan."

"He has wings. He doesn't need to fly on those death traps," Gajeel said, crossing his arms.

"We didn't find out until this trip that they have motion sickness bracelets."

Lucy giggled but changed the subject. "So, the plan is for Levy to go with me and for Gajeel to go with Bixy. We'll meet at a restaurant that Ever wanted to try for dinner. Cobra, you weren't really part of the plan, so you can decide where you want to go."

"I'll stick with the men. I'm not getting stuck with girl talk."

"Whatever. Bixy, you tell him, and I'll cut off your penis and feed it to you." Cobra choked. "Same goes for you. Actually, I'll feed you charcoal."

Cobra flinched away from Lucy. "I forgot how scary she could be when she wants to be."

"Bye, Love," Levy said kissing Gajeel goodbye.

"Did you try to talk them into lunch?" Bickslow asked as they started walking towards the Pelerno branch of White Sea.

"And get between them and research for an hour? She looked appalled that I'd even consider it."

"Yeah. That's what Lucy did too."

"You said you'd been staying in a house in Pelerno. You didn't say it was a fucking mansion." Levy was trailing behind Lucy and gawking at the Pradesh home.

"Hi, Arman," Lucy greeted as he was headed out of his office and the two women were headed to the Ganier's study. "This is my friend, Levy. She was a member of Fairy Tail, too."

"Hello. Lucy was very excited to announce that you were coming."

"Thank you." Levy gripped Lucy's arm. "And thank you for taking such good care of her. She's my best friend. And my fiancée's kin."

"She was mine first though," Lucy muttered, and they shared a giggle of a discussion they'd had many times.

"What's that?" Arman asked, glancing at the books that Levy clutched.

"Copies of Tamia Heartfilia's journals. I work as an archivist for the Magic Council and it took forever to find these. They're written in the Boscan language of the Star People tribe, so it had been miscategorized. I think I've got most of the book translated though."

"Impressive. I see why you've brought in the big guns. I'll send Mr. Elan your way with some snacks."

"That would be appreciated. Thank you."

"I was not expecting him to be _that_ attractive," Levy gushed as soon the door was closed. The room was much messier than how Lucy had found it. There were notes filled with Lucy loopy script and Freed's blocky handwriting scattered over the table. Books were stacked in seemingly haphazard piles. Many had pieces of colored papers tucked into them.

"One, he's a sound mage and can hear everything. Two, you're engaged."

"So? I'm not blind. Nor do I expect Gajeel to be. Though, I did give him a rundown on what being propositioned in Bosco looked like."

"If you think he's hot, wait 'til you see the rest of them. Farron's claimed by Freed though."

"I'm pretty thoroughly claimed myself," she said, shrugging off the white shawl she was wearing. Looping around the back of her neck and down into her burnt orange dress was a dragon.

"You're mated," Lucy breathed.

"Yeah. Gajeel didn't tell me 'til recently that he wanted to. I think he was waiting for a good time since Natsu-" Levy froze. She watched her friend to see if she'd stepped on a landmine.

"I know Natsu didn't mate me. That I probably wasn't his mate."

"Actually, Gajeel thinks you might've been. Since it's about how the dragon reacts to a person and their magic, I think there's certain types of people and magic that can be universally mated because they're versatile. Like my script magic. Your magic is flexible with your-"

"I have something I've been waiting to tell you. Open, gate of the dragon, Draco."

Most everything stayed the same except the Draco was wrapped around her wrist instead. Levy's jaw dropped as she gawked, and Lucy smiled so that she could see the familiar canines.

"You're a dragon slayer…"

"The celestial dragon slayer." Levy didn't say anything but took out her pen and wrote 'STAR'. Lucy took a hesitant bite before finding it delicious and eating the word rapidly. "If fire tastes half as good as that, I officially understand why Natsu goes crazy."

She had just dropped the transformation when Levy began bombarding her with questions. Yeah, she ate a lot after the transformation. No, she hadn't started hoarding. No, she didn't have a mate.

"You told Sting and Rogue about being a dragon slayer first?" Levy asked, sounding hurt after Lucy had recounted everything about training with Draco.

"No. Yukino's team is just as nosy as mine is. Was."

Levy frowned and pain flashed in her eyes. It reminded Lucy that Levy had grown up within Fairy Tail. That her father had died only a few years before Lucy had joined during a mission and her mother taught literature in Minstrel.

"Have you talked to Jet or Droy?"

"You know, let's get to work."

Lucy gave her a quick, tight hug. The two men were still sore subjects. Neither liked that Levy chose to follow Gajeel. With the intention of using Lucy as a buffer, she'd invited them to brunch.

Brunch turned into an argument between Jet and Levy where Jet implied that he had seniority over Gajeel and deserved her love. That made both Lucy and Levy snap. They ended up banned from that café and having to listen to Gajeel laugh at them.

"Are Gajeel and I the only mates?"

"Outside of the Twins, yeah."

"Sting and Rogue are mated?"

"Yup," Lucy said, popping the 'p' and waiting for the reaction she knew was about to happen.

"To who?"

"Each other." Levy gawked at her. "Yup. After I first found out about the whole mating thing, I called Yukino to ask. Which she was _not_ happy about 'cause I woke her and the Twins up." Lucy wasn't sure that Levy's jaw was meant to gape that much. Like one of her tutors used to do to her, she used her finger to lift her jaw and close her mouth. "You'll catch flies like that.

"When Sting and Rogue went through their first heat, they didn't know what to do with themselves. Their dragons recognized each other as potential mates and they mated each other. By the time Yukino joined, they'd started getting curious about what sex with a woman would be like. There weren't many women that interested them and ones like Minerva couldn't be submissive."

"Are they all mated?"

"Nope. They just like to have threesomes occasionally." Lucy watched with a small smile as Levy blinked owlishly. She was pretty sure she just broke the brain of the smartest person she knew.

"Um we should- uh work. That's why I'm here and not in Akane," Levy said finally.

Lucy chucked. "I have a few of Valenca K.'s journals and some letters. You?"

"Tamia Heartfilia's journals. What's left of them anyways. The archivist that accepted them knew their importance but since they couldn't read them, they didn't fully appreciate it. Not enough to ensure there was no degradation. Add in the fact they were misfiled…" Levy sighed. The idea that someone wouldn't take care of a book pained her.

"Okay. According to Valenca's journal, there were two big fights between her and Tamia. The first concerned one of Anna's student whom she'd passed one of the gold keys to."

"Yeah, I've got that one too. It's the second one that was badly degraded. What's Valenca's version?"

Lucy flipped to wear she'd made a note of it on a sticky note. "She says they were trying to convince one of Anna's students to stay in Cellis despite part of the condition in getting the Zodiac key was to leave Cellis. It's really vague. Freed thinks she did that deliberately. Knowing that her journals would be saved for posterity."

"Makes sense. Tamia's was scathing. According to her, the first dean of the Acadame threatened the student's family. His whole family were celestial mages and his sister was amongst the first students. They were threatened with being exiled and the sister prevented from getting any keys. It's ultimately the reason why Tamia left."

"Damn. Valenca doesn't write about the second fight but there's part of a letter." Lucy reached for a different book. "'I may not have any contracts, but I swear that I will never step into Bosco again. And when you fail, for I have no doubt that you will, I will laugh. You and Keigel's delusions of grandeur will be your downfall for you cannot succeed without my help. Tamia Heartfilia.'"

"Damn," Levy echoed. "A lot of the few weeks when that happened is missing, but her house in Fiore was broken into. Her daughter, who had the Heartfilia keys, was with another celestial mage on a training trip. At first, she's grateful and thinks that's what they were looking for."

"But?"

"But she notices that some journals are missing. She doesn't say- or it's in the illegible bits- what the journals are but she's pissed."

"I think I know what they were," Lucy breathed. "They were Anna's journals. And probably the only place she ever wrote the location of the Ptolemaic keys."

Lucy stood and walked over to the bookshelf. She scanned for the first of a collection of thick books. When she found it, she dropped it onto the table with a dull thud and started flipping through it.

"Here, he is."

Levy moved to stand next to her. The sketch was of a man named Kiegel Straner. He was traditionally appealing with the hint of his clan tattoos, a series of stars going up his neck. More important than that was the chapter header: first dean of Acadame Celestine.

 **Holy shit! 41 reviews, 93 favorites, 157 follows! You guys are amazing!**

 **I had aspirations of posting a large chapter… That's not gonna happen. I might try to post what was the second part of this chapter tonight or tomorrow.**


	12. Chapter 12

**See? Told you probably tomorrow.**

Gajeel's surprisingly talkative mood covered for the fact that Lucy playing with the noodles on her plate. He was regaling Levy about beating Bickslow in a sparring match. Then mostly beating Cobra.

"You all right?" Laxus asked quietly. His tone was gruff as always, but his eyes were soft. It bothered him that he couldn't read her as well as he used to be able. Then again, most of her troubles went back to her team so it made sense that he couldn't pick it up off her face

"Yeah."

He glared at the monosyllable response then turned to Cobra.

"Tink thinks she knows where Anna Heartfilia's journal is and is avoiding running to Cellis to find it," Cobra said.

"Stay out of my head," Lucy said, not looking up.

"Lu, we'll go tomorrow," Levy said.

"But we were going sightseeing."

"Bunny Girl, it's Levy. She'd rather explore a bunch of ancient libraries with you any day."

"Really?" Lucy asked, her eyes widening as she looked at her friend.

"Of course."

"And the flowers are back," Bickslow muttered as the two women clasped hands and looked into each other's eyes.

"I think I'm gonna hurl," Cobra agreed.

The two men shared a grin before Lucy whipped around.

"Don't even think about it. I am _not_ dealing with the two of you together. Just because Cobra is an idiot doesn't mean you two get to go fuck and be mated."

Cobra surprised himself by flushing. When he'd first met Bickslow properly at the tarmac, he'd heard his dragon perk up. During his incarceration, he'd gotten a crash course on dragon slayers including the fact that they mated. That it would be a matter of compatible magics and personalities. He'd reached out to Kinana first and while his dragon didn't reject her, the intimacy was awkward, and both ended up parting on good terms. Now, his dragon was making a noise that reminded him of a petulant child sulking.

Gajeel was staring between Lucy and Cobra. Even he could see how Cobra's posture had changed when confronted by her words. If his dragon was a physical creature, it would have staring at her through narrowed eyes. It had been like that the entire time they'd been around each other since the airship landed.

"You can't do that," Laxus said.

Lucy gave him a droll stare. "Do you want to see what kind of hell the two of them could raise together?"

He hesitated. Still sounding a bit grudging, he repeated, "You can't do that."

"How did the Thunder Legion end up in Bosco?" Levy asked, knowing that Lucy wanted to surprise Gajeel.

"Well I was born here. Figured I'd come stay with family for a bit," Bickslow replied.

"I stayed in Bosco for awhile after- When Bix said this was where he was headed, I figured that it sounded like a good as any place to go," Laxus said.

"I followed Laxus," Freed said. "It's not like I could go home."

Lucy flinched. Though she'd never met Freed before joining the guild, she'd met his father a few times. His father did business with hers and they were like two bad fathers in a pod.

"Same," Evergreen said.

"You know, we could get married and make both of our father's happy," Lucy said, looking at Freed.

"Are you offering to be my beard?"

"Are you offering to let me have sex with Boscan bath attendants?"

Both Gajeel and Laxus were making weird faces at Lucy's brazen question. While both knew that she'd been sleeping with Natsu, that had seemed inevitable. The women and Bickslow were laughing at their reactions.

"Where are the Strauss's?" Lucy asked. Laxus's frown deepened and she could see that he was headed into full sulk territory. "What did I say?"

"Mira dumped him. Said she wanted to try dating outside the guild. To see who she'd be outside of Fairy Tail's pin-up girl. Part of Makarov's speech was to explore who we were outside of the guild," Bickslow said. "Naturally, Elfman and Lis stayed with her."

"I'm surprised you decided to come here versus stay with Elfman," Levy said, looking at Evergreen.

"I thought about it. But realized that it would be like marrying him and I wasn't sure I was ready for that. Besides, why would I want to deny Bosco my beauty?" She said that last sentence with her usual flare. One that earned her a few intrigued looks.

"I still can't believe they gave you a badge," Freed commented.

"Honestly, me neither."

Lucy walked over to Laxus, draped her arms over his shoulders, and propped her head on her arm next to his head. Both Evergreen and Freed were a little jealous at the ease which she did that.

"You're pouting."

"I don't pout. I brood."

"Nope. This is definitely a pout."

"Oi, Cosplayer. How did you and Natsu end up in bed?" Bickslow asked. It took Lucy a moment to realize that he was deliberately trying to get a rise out of Laxus.

"I'm assuming you're talking about sex and not just him being a bed hog. It was after Tenrou. We had a moment on the island. Then we got back. Three years had passed but we were alive. That's usually what it came down to. Us feeling alive. Sex seemed like a really good way to express it."

"I can't believe you chose to have sex with him," Laxus muttered.

"You chose to make me kin," she retorted, poking him in the side and dancing away even though they both knew he wouldn't retaliate.

Gajeel chuckled. He was glad to see her back to being the bubbly blonde that he'd first claimed. While he knew that she enjoyed working for the magazine, she obsessed over Natsu leaving.

"Hey, Gajeel, spar me," Lucy said abruptly.

"What?"

"You heard me, Lugnuts. Spar me."

"I ain't goin' easy on ya, so you'd better have a healer there."

"Cris should be there by now. I'll call him on the way to the grounds," Bickslow said.

"You guys go on ahead. I wanna talk to Lucy," Laxus said.

"Sure, Bossman. I'll have 'em charge it to your account."

Laxus rolled his eyes but he knew he'd been paid enough to afford the large table at the moderately priced restaurant. "Have you thought about joining the guild? I know your struggling for money." They lingered for a few minutes before leaving as well.

"It's not like that's new. I have but- I don't think I could handle losing another guild. It hurt as it is. Arman's great but he wants me to fall in love with one of his sons and they're all amazing, but I don't know where I want to be after I find these keys."

"I'm pretty sure White Sea is too large to fail."

"I think people thought that about the Heartfilia Konzern."

"And in the three years we were on Tenrou, your father managed to rebuild it."

Lucy scrunched her nose. "Which is the most tempting reason to stay in Bosco." Seeing his frown, she said, "He found out the guild was disbanded when he saw me on the front of Sorcerer Weekly. He tried to get me to come back and make a financial marriage and yada yada. Why are we talking about this?"

"I mostly wanted to wait 'til Bix and Cobra were out of earshot. Why did you tell them they couldn't mate?"

"Because the best way to get someone like Cobra, and Bixy, to do something is to tell them not to."

Laxus blinked owlishly at her as a wicked little smile crossed her face. "Have I mentioned recently you're terrifying? Has Cobra ever been with a man?"

"No idea, but I have faith in Bixy's ability to seduce the pants off him."

"How did you keep Cobra from hearing your scheme?" Lucy started humming 'Crazy Frog.' "Okay. Please stop."

She skipped ahead, looking far too innocent for the devious wheels turning. If she ever got it into her head to try, Lucy could probably take over the world. He was almost grateful that her team's antics kept her from realizing that herself.

The sparring grounds were bordered by a large wall with an observation room at the top. Cristoff was already there when everyone but the two combatants arrived.

"What's with the lacrima cameras?" Bickslow asked when he noticed the screens recording.

"They're to make it easier for Lucy to be evaluated later. We can just send me to Cellis to confirm S-class ranking."

"You think she'll be S-class?" Levy asked, her eyes wide.

"Yeah. I felt her magic when she summoned Draco. It's unfocused and she needs to train her dragon. She's a very rough diamond but I see no reason that the dean wouldn't rank her S-class just by virtue of her celestial magic."

Down on the ground, Lucy was bouncing with excitement.

"Are ya sure abou' this?" Gajeel asked.

"Yup."

"Iron dragon club!" Gajeel attacked.

"Open, gate of the maiden, Virgo! Stardress!"

Lucy drilled down and popped back up behind Gajeel. She'd just begun mastering the stardress when Tartarus happened. As a perfectionist, she hadn't wanted anyone to see her mess it up. The Spirit King had given her the last push in her mastery.

"Open, gate of the goat, Capricorn! Stardress!"

There was something particularly arousing about her stardresses to Cristoff. It both covered and revealed more than her earlier outfit had. It was a black and purple dress that only by virtue of it being magic covered her breasts. The hip high slits revealed mid-thigh socks and boots. He rather liked the braids but didn't know what to think about the horns.

She ran at him, dodging his blows. He'd noticed the chains around her wrists before and assumed they were some fashion statement from her spirits but was surprised when she unraveled them to attack. Suddenly, Gajeel found himself on the defensive. One of his attacks finally managed to land solidly on her and sending her a few feet away.

"Open, gate of the bull, Taurus." 

"You know, I imagined Taurus's stardress to be more pervy," Levy commented. Instead, the outfit looked like something Bisca would wear.

"I don't mind."

Cobra chuckled. He could hear the lunar dragon slayer's thoughts on Lucy.

"Those chains are interesting. I'd just thought they were a new fashion statement," Evergreen commented.

"Gajeel's gonna try to taste them. They've gotta be made out of something interesting to throw him like that," Laxus said.

"They're called rantai. Virgo gave them to her because she loses her keys so much and they look like fashion accessories." It took Levy a moment to realize everyone was staring at her. "She told me awhile back about them."

"When is she going to go all dragon slayer on his ass?" Bickslow complained. 

Lucy wrapped the rantai around Gajeel's club arm. Using Taurus's strength, she flung him. He barely managed to twist himself to land on his feet.

"Damn Bunny Girl. If I'd known sparring you would be like this, I'd 'ave done it ages ago."

"I definitely have a new trick that'll surprise you. Open, gate of the dragon, Draco! Dragon slayer!" She'd shifted back into her normal clothes and smirked, a hint of fang showing.

Gajeel was dumbstruck and staring at her. When they'd first landed, he'd noticed that her scent had changed. The stardust was even stronger. This was nowhere on his list of possible explanations.

"Athebyne!" Lucy said blasting him with one of the weaker stars in Draco's constellation.

"Shit," Gajeel cursed. He'd been able to manifest his metal scales in time to shield himself from the star, but it had forced him to a knee.

The second time she aimed a star at him, he managed to dodge then get close to her. It only took him a moment to realize that she couldn't cast that in close quarters. He decided that dealing with her chain was preferable to that star. 

"This is what I mean," Cristoff said as they watched the two dragon slayers fight in what was almost hand-to-hand combat. "There's a lot of power in that star attack but I suspect that the distance it covers should be larger. The second time was wider but duller even though I think they're the same star."

"She needs to learn focus," Levy said.

"Also, she shouldn't need to summon Draco to use his powers."

"What are you taking notes on?" Bickslow asked when he noticed that his brother was typing into his tablet.

"Just things to focus on in training." 

Gajeel was trying to keep her from getting far enough away to cast another of those stars. And she knew it. It pleased Lucy to know that she might beat him. The star attack couldn't be used in close quarters. She'd that the hard way in the valley. It took days for the burns to heal and two hours in the lake to get the smell of Virgo's ointment off her skin.

She used the meteor spell to get out of his reach.

"Iron dragon roar!"

She tried to react with her own roar but knew, almost immediately, that it wasn't strong enough. The attack landed, throwing her into the wall. Seeing her slide down the wall, Laxus and Cristoff teleported next to her. The lunar dragon slayer had already healed her by the time that Gajeel reached them.

"Is she all right?" he asked.

"Yeah. I'm gonna take her with me. No point trying to get her back home at this hour." Cristoff scooped her up and left Laxus to deal with the others.

-oOo-

Lucy woke up in an unfamiliar bed with the smell of peppermint tickling her over sensitized nose. Running her tongue along her teeth, she confirmed that she was still in dragon slayer mode which surprised her.

"Cris?" she said softly, rolling over in the bed. It took her a moment to recognize his particular peppermint scent.

"You got knocked out pretty solidly," he said, brushing her hair out of her face to get a good look at her.

"Damn. And I almost had him too."

Noticing the hint of fang, he glanced and saw the dragon perched on her breast. It had been on her shoulder originally. The way its tail seemed to curve underneath her breast and lead his gaze made him wonder if the tattoo was the physical manifestation of her dragon soul.

When his gaze moved back up to hers, he noticed that there was something draconic mixed with lust. She pulled him down to kiss her before rolling him onto his back and perched herself above him. Her fingers grazed his clan tattoo then slowly up to his face.

His dragon hated to be dominated but it wasn't reacting. It was waiting. It wanted every kiss and every touch. He wanted there to be less clothing.

"Share pleasure with me?" Lucy asked against his lips.

"Yes." He flipped them over.

His dragon wanted to worship a queen. The queen wanted a warrior. It was a battle of dominance and pleasure.

Cristoff knew that this wasn't a mating though part of him wanted to let her take charge as a female dragon slayer. It wasn't a mate that she was seeking from him. His dragon knew but wasn't informing him.

When they were both sated and Lucy fell asleep snuggled into his side, Cristoff could feel his dragon preening. He hadn't felt it do that since he made Century class. Her dragon had moved to look like a necklace and seemed to be watching him. The whole situation baffled him, but he wouldn't get answers until she woke and they could ask Draco, so he allowed himself to fall asleep. 

**I said you weren't getting lemons from me. That was like lemons adjacent. Lemon water.**

 **Canon revision: I'm going to come back to this later, but here's a rundown. Instead of trying to get to the merchant guild in 'Love & Lucky', Jude shows up asking for money to save the Konzern. Lucy's broke but instead manages to help save enough of the company that Jude doesn't lose everything. He sends her job requests when he wants dinner or needs her for rich people BS. He pays for her apartment while they're on Tenrou but is still kinda a shitty dad.**

 **They're on Tenrou for three years instead seven because otherwise it makes the Pradesh birth order really wonky. And three is still one of the fairy tale numbers.**


	13. Chapter 13

**I don't own FT or the Pradesh family.**

Lucy woke up as the sun was peeking into the windows. It took a few minutes for her to blink the sleep out of her eyes. She was clinging to Cristoff's side and she could feel every indent of his muscles. Something foreign made her want to bask in the coolness of his presence.

Instead, she wiggled slightly to see if he was awake. When all he made was a grumbling protest to her movement, she tried to get out of her bed.

"Women that actually share my bed don't usually try to sneak off in the morning," Cristoff commented. He'd awakened earlier. Had called to have breakfast delivered to his apartment. A large one since he'd noticed that Draco's tattoo was still around her neck. That fed into his assumption that she could hold onto that magic indefinitely.

He'd let her rise because he'd wanted to see her in the light of the sunrise. His dragon purred but still hadn't screamed mate. It was enjoying the view as well as Lucy's blushing perusal of his body.

"Last night was weird."

"Again, not usually something that happens in the morning." She gave him a sardonic look. "Okay, yeah. It was a bit weird. I've never-" he hesitated "-liked being dominated. It usually bothers my dragon."

She moved to settle between his legs. Despite her nudity, he could tell that the move wasn't meant to be seductive though he struggled to keep his eyes from her breasts. Her eyes as she studied his face were filled with concern. "Did it bother you this time?"

"No. I actually wondered if you wouldn't mind summoning Draco."

"Sure." She paused and bit her lip. "How much time do you think we have before Gajeel and Levy are up?"

"Nope," he said, picking her up and plopping her on the other side of the bed. "Get dressed."

Lucy gave him a sulking look but grudgingly picked up the rest of her clothes. Even that small move sent pleasurable tingles down her spine.

"Open, gate of the dragon, Draco."

While she knew that he had a human form, it was the first time she'd seen it. Draco was tall and lean with long, dark blue hair and shimmering red-white eyes. There was something still vaguely reptilian in his angular features. Like Loke, he was dressed in a suit that was decorated in stars.

What surprised her even more was the woman that walked out of his gate as well. She was stunning with silver hair and dark grey eyes. The dark blue dress that she wore contrasted nicely against her fair skin.

Draco flopped onto the couch in the living room with a pout on his face. On the other hand, the woman looked smug.

"Mother?" Cristoff said, walking out in pants.

"Hello, Moonbeam," Nurem said, kissing both of his cheeks while Lucy gawked. "I can't stay long."

"Are you here about what happened last night?" Cristoff asked.

"Yes," both dragons said. Draco's tone was annoyed while Nurem's was self-satisfied.

"I told you so," Nurem sang as Draco stood.

"She has history with Igneel's boy."

"But Cristoff is my son. They were always going to be intricately tied."

"That may be true but there was no way to know that my slayer would be queen."

"Yes. The fact that she had the early makings was a surprise. But she's a sensible woman. Of course, she'd bed my Moonbeam."

Lucy gave Cristoff a confused look. She had a feeling that her summoning had interrupted this argument.

"She was intimate with the other one too."

"What woman in their right mind would choose a hot-headed fire dragon slayer over my Cristoff?"

"What are you talking about?" Lucy demanded.

"She's gloating that she won the bet," Draco grumbled.

"As I'm sure my brilliant son has already deduced, you are shaping up to be Queen. And well, every Queen needs a knight. And Draco thought it would never be my son."

"Well Emzadi and Cristoff are already kin. How was I supposed to know they'd react to the fact that she is claimed by three dragons?"

"Emzadi was the only other potential. Wendy is too young. And Rhiannon says everything has its time and-"

"Who's Rhiannon?" Lucy and Cristoff asked.

Nurem blanched. "I should go. If you don't mind, Draco."

Draco sighed and made a sweeping motion with his hand. She pecked Cristoff on the cheek before disappearing in a shower of golden sparks like a celestial spirit.

"Before you ask, I can't tell you. She made me promise," he told Lucy when she opened her mouth. She gave him a pouting look but didn't argue.

"Draco, as her knight, will I still have a mate?" Cristoff asked. Lucy looked sharply at him. She could hear the concern in his voice.

"Yes. Though, for your sake, I hope she's Boscan. You will always be her protector, but sometimes, until you both find mates, you'll be lovers. Since Lucy is a naturally touchy person, I'm willing to bet she'll always be a bit handsy with you." He paused as if listening to something int the distance. "I should go before she plunders my hoard."

Lucy walked over to hug Draco. "What did bet her?"

"A bottle of liquor that Centaurus made. It's next to impossible to force him to part from his liquor," he said, sighing heavily. "Oh, the knighthood bond hasn't settled yet, so if you choose not to take the responsibility, you can. Just don't have sex again. Or be intimate in general."

"Why is it always sex?" Lucy asked. Her eyes raked over Cristoff's body with a wicked little smile. "Not that I'm complaining but seriously."

"Because a male dragon slayer is always dominate. In sex, they can allow their queen to be dominate. They can show their prowess without potentially harming her." Draco nuzzled her cheek softly before disappearing.

Lucy let herself fall back onto the couch and stare at the ceiling. Before Cristoff had a chance to comment, the doorbell rang announcing the arrival of food and a change of clothes that he'd thought to buy her. Levy had mentioned plans to go to Cellis and knew that there wouldn't be time for her to head back to the house.

"There's enough for you. I'm sure your starving."

Lucy bounced up, almost surprised with herself how hungry she was. Since she couldn't see it, she hadn't realized that she was still in dragon slayer mode. Cristoff had chosen not to say anything to her since her magic levels were holding steady.

"Who do you think Rhiannon is?" Lucy asked as they started eating.

"I'm guessing a dragon slayer. Second generation, maybe."

"Hm…"

They ate in silence. Both were trying to come up with how to broach the subject of him being her knight. Cristoff had learned that a high carb and high protein diet proved to be the most beneficial so that he wasn't constantly feeling the need to eat. He waited for Lucy to comment on the stacks of whole wheat pancakes and the equally large amount of bacon and sausage.

"Are you going to ask me to be your knight?" he asked, deciding to go with the direct approach as she filled her third plate.

She sighed and stopped. "No. I don't want to ask that of you. If I do, you'll say yes. I know you will. But what if your mate can't deal with that?"

"Draco mentioned Igneel's boy. I'm guessing that's Natsu?" Lucy nodded. "Will you ask him?"

"A year ago, yeah. Now? No. Whatever partnership we had, he broke it." She sighed and Cristoff worried she might cry. "I miss a lot of things about him but there's also a lot that I don't. He's reckless, destructive, has no concept of boundaries. Expecting maturity from him is like waiting for a shooting star. It happens, but you shouldn't hold your breath." She shook her head. "No. I refuse to look backwards."

"That's a good policy."

"I think I will resist having a knight. Besides, I can do badass on my own."

"Oh, I'm sure." His tone was skeptical but there was a playful glint in his eyes.

Under the table, Lucy kicked him. Cristoff surged from the table, scooped her out of her seat, and started tickling her. Bickslow heard a crash through the door and burst into his brother's apartment. He found Lucy trying to thrash her way out from underneath Cristoff's fingers.

"You know, somehow I was imagining less clothing."

"If you'd been here a couple of hours ago, there would have been," Cristoff said as he released Lucy.

"I hate you both," she said breathlessly.

"Be nice. I got you clothes. You should shower."

"Thank you." She stopped herself from kissing his lips and kissed his cheek instead.

Bickslow's brow furrowed as she watched the interaction. It was the first time since they'd been together in Bosco that she'd hesitated in the Boscan gesture to kiss on the lips. "What happened there?"

Cristoff told him what had happened the night before, ignoring Bickslow's questions about how she was in bed. Then, he told him what Nurem and Draco had said that morning.

"Do you _want_ to be her knight because it almost sounds as if you're annoyed that she doesn't want you? I mean, I get where Lucy's coming from. She's always been all hugs and kisses. I can only imagine the intimacy that comes from the two of you being bound to one another. A mate that's more prone to jealousy might not be okay with that."

"Honestly, I don't know how I feel. I spend so much time fending off women that it's weird to have one say no to being in my bed."

"Kaleb let it slip that she shot him down, too. That was after them getting into that blowout over him listening to her thoughts. I ran into him at the bathhouse."

"Are you still talking about me?" Lucy asked, walking out in shorts and bra and still towel drying her hair.

"Yup."

"I'm gonna shower. Do you mind me joining you today? I want to check in with the group I was helping when we met," Cristoff said.

"I don't mind."

"You've done an impressive job of knocking my brothers off-kilter," Bickslow said when he heard the shower start.

"I don't mean to," she replied as she sat down on the arm of the couch.

"I know."

"There's too many unknown variables. I don't like it."

"Life is an unknown variable."

"That sounds like something Kaleb would say."

"You're a good judge of character. It is something Kaleb said."

"Letting him be my knight means that I'd be staying here. That I might as well join the guild 'cause I couldn't imagine separating him from White Sea."

"And if my dad successfully makes you his daughter-in-law?"

"Then I'll have made a life here. I'm just not sure that I'm ready for that currently."

He nodded and ruffled her wet hair. "I think you're staying."

"What make you so sure of that?"

"Who else is gonna protect you when Natsu tries to drag you back to Magnolia?"

"I'm a dragon slayer. I don't need someone to protect me."

"You were knocked out cold."

"Shudup," Lucy said, letting herself slide onto the couch so her back was turned.

Bickslow gave her a quick kiss on her temple. "I'm gonna go check on Levy and Gajeel."

"And Cobra?"

"Hm… Remind me to make sure Cris inducts him before you leave," he said absently, leaving Lucy staring at the dragon that had wrapped itself around her wrist.


	14. Chapter 14

**I own neither the Fairy Tail characters or Desna's Boscans.**

"Dean Kaperdean," Lucy said with a large smile. "Thank you for seeing us on such short notice."

"Miss Heartfilia, it's a pleasure to see you again. I was surprised to hear that you'd left a few days ago. Please, come in."

She gave him a sheepish smile as she and Levy followed him into his office. When she'd first arrived, the two had met in the room. Unlike her father's, or even Arman's office, there was a noticeable lack of books. There was only a single bookshelf that was admittedly stuffed full. The layout of the room was strange. He had his desk situated so that he could look out the window at the Grass Sea while the other looked out on the grounds.

The two women settled onto the couch while Dean Kaperdean sat in a chair across from them.

"This is Miss McGarden. She's a friend of mine from Fiore. She knows at least a little bit about just about everything," Lucy introduced.

"A pleasure. What can I do for you today?"

"Miss McGarden came here from Fiore. She works as an archivist and brought me the journal of Tamia Heartfilia."

"I'm familiar of the name. She was the last Heartfilia born in Bosco. I must admit, I was rather looking forward to gloating in the afterlife that I'd managed to secure a Heartfilia."

Lucy's eyes widened. "As a student?"

"Yes. After all, no one's held as many zodiac keys as you have since Anna Heartfilia."

"Speaking of, I was not entirely honest about what I was researching. I-"

"You are looking for the Ptolemaic Royals, aren't you?" Lucy knew she was gaping like a fish and was slightly grateful for the indulgent smile that the dean gave her. "Every so often, a celestial mage will come around trying to find information. One of our professors has Cetus if you think that'll help."

"No, thank you. I mean no offense but according to Tamia's journals, we believe that the first dean stole the journals of Anna Heartfilia from her home. Or, more likely, had someone else do it."

"No offense taken. Some of the biographers are not particularly kind to him."

"Dean Kaperdean, does the dean of Acadame Celestine have a private library?"

He smiled, stood, and opened the wall. Lucy vaguely remembered thinking the dimensions of the room seemed weird the first time. The hallway wasn't the best lit and she was memorizing it for a scene in a novel at a later point. The stone walls were rough but magically protected from any moisture that might have gotten in from the sea. The steps down seemed carved directly from the stone.

They hadn't reached the bottom when the ceiling above the staircase opened up and the expanse of the underground library was visible. Next to her, Levy made a sound of awe.

"There aren't many things that I think Dean Straner did right," Kaperdean said as he led the two women through a maze of empty bookshelves, "but this library is not one of them. He believed that the school would be open for generations and wanted future deans to add to the library, so he ensured that this space would be large enough.

"I haven't spent as much time as I probably should this far into the library as I probably should," he mused as he stroked the leather of one of the books. When he turned, Lucy and Levy were already dawning their wind-reader glasses. "Can you read the writing of the Star Gazers?"

"She can. She taught me a few words to look for," Lucy answered.

The dean chuckled. "All right. I'll leave you to it."

The two women spent the next couple of hours going through books. Levy was a bit slower since she could actually read the books and would pause to absorb the book.

"Found it!" Levy squealed and did a slight dance.

"Great." Lucy rushed over to her. "Does it say where?"

"Kinda."

"What does 'kinda' mean?"

Levy showed her the journal. Most of the writing was gibberish but a cluster of lettering had obviously been done overlarge and carefully sketched out. There were lighter lines as if made by a pencil where Anna had sketched the straight lines or angles carefully.

"The writing isn't explicit but it's pretty apparent that this is supposed to say where the keys are. 'I just returned from hiding the royals. They were not pleased but accepted that what I did was in everyone's best interest. C is grateful that they are merely committing penance compared to death.' It sounds like she's talking about hiding the keys."

"Yeah. Any other clues?"

"No. She just says that she provided directions since eventually, someone would need to find them. It's only a punishment if there's an eventual reprieve."

"Hm…I wonder what she would've said about Loke's punishment," Lucy muttered. She used her tablet to take a picture of the unfamiliar script. "Come on. We should get going. If we leave now, we should make I back in time for dinner."

"Yeah. Okay." Levy looked around longingly. Even she knew that the book couldn't be safely removed. As they left, she dragged her feet. A few times, Lucy glanced behind her only to realize that she'd lost Levy who had stopped to read through a book. Lucy almost wondered if the mating process went two ways because Levy growled at her when she tried to pull her away.

Cristoff was waiting for them when they reentered the dean's office.

"How'd you fare?" he asked. Both men were stared expectantly at them.

"Found it. Sorta." Lucy showed them the picture but both men shook their head. "Yeah. I'll have to send it to Farron and see if he has any idea. Thank you, Dean Kaperdean."

"My pleasure. Good luck and I hope you'll at least consider a guest lecturer position."

"I will consider the seminar series."

They were halfway out of the school when someone called for Cristoff. They stopped and turned. The man approaching was tall with ash blond hair and ice blue eyes. His button-down shirt was left open enough that the wing of his clan tattoo was just barely visible.

"Hello, Hestor," Cristoff greeted.

"New members? I thought Kaleb-" His gaze had quickly left Cristoff before moving onto Lucy and Levy.

"They're not members," Cristoff interjected. "They're friends of the family and doing some research here."

"Interesting. I thought Dean Kaperdean- Never mind." His eyes widened when he noticed Lucy's keys then narrowed as he studied her.

Uncomfortable under his scrutiny, Lucy shifted backwards slightly so that she pressed into Cristoff's chest. His arm instinctively wrapped around her middle. She resisted the urge to shudder as she felt magic reverberate between them. His fingers drummed slightly on her stomach, as if to acknowledge that he'd felt the magic as well.

"Hestor, this is Lucy, a celestial spirit mage. She may become a new White Sea mage. Her friend, Levy, a script mage. Hestor is a White Sea mage. He uses the asteroidic keys."

Cristoff didn't know much about Hestor's magic. The man was based out of the main guildhall or as a recruiter at the Acadame. However, he felt Lucy flinch at the mention of his keys.

"I have a few celestial contracts as well. Of course, none as impressive as yours."

Lucy smiled painfully. Something about the man made it hard for her to summon her aristocratic background. It took everything in her not to shield her keys from his gaze. As repulsed as she would have felt by a lecherous gaze, she'd have preferred that to his scrutinizing one

"We should get going if we want to get to Pelerno by dinner," Cristoff said, guiding the two women away.

"Did you feel that?" Levy asked. "His magic felt- I dunno- predatory."

"Probably because the asteroidic keys are evil. Mama used to tell me she'd feed me to one when I was bad," Lucy said. "They were the first keys created. Back when the Star Gazers were first learning to create keys. Their power is different from celestial spirits. It takes a dozen copies of the same key to be equal in strength to a silver." She shuddered.

"It's not that they're evil," Cristoff scolded lightly. "They're a bit like imps."

"Aren't imps a subspecies of demons?" Levy asked drily.

"Well…" Cristoff said as the piled into the small airship.

"That's what I thought."

-oOo-

It would take two days for Farron to get back to Lucy. He didn't recognize the symbols and then spent the two days obsessing over them. None of his books had them though he swore that there were many similarities.

Like Farron, Lucy spent the next few days obsessing while sightseeing with Levy and Gajeel. They didn't comment nor did it stop Lucy from laughing at Bickslow and his babies. The seith mage served as their tour guide.

Cobra often joined them as well. It amused Lucy to watch them pretend that they weren't flirting. They forgot that Lucy was a dragon slayer and could hear Gajeel comment about the bedroom eyes the two kept sharing. Or the way that Cobra released pheromones every time that Bickslow made a pass at him.

Both Levy and Gajeel got a lot of unwanted attention. Some of it, Lucy was able to divert. However, around the third time Levy was propositioned, Bickslow decided to buy them promise rings. Only the woman that had come up to her hadn't been growled at by the territorial dragon slayer. Levy had protested that it was too extravagant and Bickslow responded, 'Maybe, but it's a lot less work than getting him out of jail.'

At night, Lucy stayed with Cristoff. They never had sex again resulting in both visiting the bathes a lot. The thrumming of their magic urging them to be intimate again made them needy. However, both acknowledged that driving back and forth from the Pradesh house was a waste of time.

The two dragon slayers spent the evenings meditating. While she still couldn't hear her dragon soul, she could feel the tattoo. She could feel it as it shifted against her skin. While her goal had been to create less interest, the sight of it moving from breast, where it perched when she was around Cristoff, to her neck seemed to have the opposite effect.

Gajeel had merely raised an eyebrow when he'd smelt Cristoff on her that first night. Unfortunately, the varying scents from the bath attendants, as well as Lucy's raised pheromones when around Cristoff, had her kin fussy and cranky. After Levy told him about Cristoff potentially being her knight and that Lucy didn't want that, he'd backed off a bit. He wouldn't acknowledge it, but Lucy suspected that some of his annoyance came from the fact that he wasn't her knight. About three days in, he suddenly made his trademark laugh. When Lucy asked about it, he said, 'This is gonna piss Salamander off.'

-oOo-

Lucy, Levy, and Gajeel were sitting at a café near the skyport waiting for their respective flights. Lucy was headed to White Sea, the city named after the guild, while her friends were headed back to Fiore. Bickslow would be joining her.

"We've been tracking movement on a potential dark guild of Zeref worshippers," Gajeel told her. Lucy's eyes widened and then she glanced at Levy, who nodded slightly. That was her way of confirming that Levy had asked him to wait before saying anything.

"Are you sure?"

"We're sure it's a dark guild. We're still working on their motives," Gajeel said.

Lucy let out a puff of air. "Any word on Natsu?"

"Not really. There was a large fire on the border of Fiore and Seven," Gajeel said.

"That's pretty far for Natsu to have gotten on foot," Levy said.

Lucy nodded. That was on the opposite side of Fiore from Magnolia and there was no way that Natsu would have gotten onto a train. It wasn't impossible though.

"He's going to try to find you," Gajeel said.

"Most likely."

"Lu, have you considered that your reticence to start a life here is because you're waiting for him?"

"Maybe…" she admitted after a minute. "I-"

"Hey. It's almost time to head over," Bickslow interrupted. He tried to drape himself over Lucy before deciding that it hurt his back too much.

"Yup," she said, smacking him lightly as she bounced up. She giggled when Popo nudged her cheek. However, the whiplash of her mood change didn't escape him and looked at Levy.

'Natsu,' she mouthed silently, and he nodded that he understood.

Levy and Lucy had a tearful farewell while the two men rolled their eyes.

"How many books are in there?" Bickslow asked as they watched Gajeel struggle to carry one of the bags.

"No idea, but I heard them arguing that she'd blown their budget on books. And she had to cast a spell that made the bag bigger on the inside."

Bickslow had included the main White Sea headquarters on his tour of Bosco but that didn't stop the awe Lucy felt walking up to the building. It was a massive building made of white stone that had small bits crystal that glistened in the sunlight. There were multiple bathhouses, a school with its own training ground, as well as multiple training grounds of various sizes. Bickslow made a point of showing her the apartments for White Sea members as part of his attempts to convince her to join.

She'd admit that it was tempting but joked that she wasn't ready to leave Mr. Elan's cooking. The last time she'd been at the Pradesh home, Arman told her to bring all her stuff to Cristoff's apartment. 'The next step in your adventure will be at White Sea,' he'd told her with a wide smile that made Lucy nervous.

As soon as they entered the guildhall, Bickslow left her to go to the bar. It was just after lunch, so she wasn't especially surprised to see so many people sitting at tables, hanging out, and eating. What did surprise her was the fact that Kaleb was sitting at a table tucked into the corner.

 _My office gets too quiet sometimes. I needed the excuse for a distraction._

 _What have I said about being in my head?_ Lucy shot back as she walked over to join him. There were more than a few envious looks at the ease which she slid into the booth next to him and looked at the screen.

 _I know, but I tend to train myself to pay attention to people's thoughts about me._

 _Even when those thoughts are just about how nicely you fill out those pants?_ She sent him her memory of his ass from one of the nights at the Pradesh home.

His mouth quirked to side. He could hear the jealousy and had been attempting to pretend that he was nonplussed by her at his side. Instead, the thoughts seemed to consider her being intrusive.

 _I'm glad you think so._

 _Are you stuck?_ she asked, looking at the screen.

His smile widened slightly. He'd been focused on her words and the images that danced just below them, but she'd been studying the code on his screen. Out of respect, he'd been trying to stay within her superficial thoughts.

 _Yes_.

 _Try this_. Instead of the numbers that he was expecting, she sent him a song. Almost as soon as he recognized it as _Danse Macabre_ , she'd started stripping out the other instruments until only the flute was heard. He knew that music could be rewritten numerically, but he'd never heard or seen someone do it. More importantly, he realized as he converted the music back into numbers, it worked.

 _Marry me?_

Lucy giggled. _We'll revisit that later_. _I need a favor._

 _What?_

She sent him the image of the strange writing from Anna Heartfilia's journal. He'd already heard about it courtesy of Farron calling him to rant. It wasn't often that something frustrated him as much as not knowing what that writing was.

 _I don't know what it is_ , he told her.

 _I know, but could you create a program that will cycle through all known languages? I don't need to know what it says but if I can figure out the language, I can translate it._

 _Do you realize how many languages that is?_ Kaleb asked. _There are around 7,000 languages spoken on Earthland. At least 1,000 dead languages and over 100 strictly written magical languages._

 _Sounds about right. Please. Unless it's too difficult for you._

 _One condition._ Lucy gave him an unabashed once over. _That's not the condition though it can_ definitely _be arranged._

 _Fine_ , she replied with a pout.

 _Join White Sea._

Lucy nearly fell off the booth. "What?"

"Join White Sea. You're a capable mage. I saw your fight with your friend. I already reached out to Dean Kaperdean. He has no problem signing off on an S-Class ranking for you. This will take some time, so it'll give you a chance to earn some money. That's my condition. Besides, you might need the guild's help retrieving the keys when you find them."

She nodded slightly. "Okay." Then her eyes narrowed suspiciously. "Did your father put you up to this?"

"He told me to find an excuse to get you to join," Kaleb acknowledged as he stood.

 _Well damn_ , she thought, staring at his ass as she followed him to his office.

He didn't know how to react to her commentary about his ass. Though, he could hear her internal cackling as well.

Almost as soon as Bickslow sat down, Vander had popped up next to him and ordered a beer.

"What are you doing here?" Bickslow asked.

"Need a partner for a job."

"Presca?"

"Not well-suited for it. Shame Starfire isn't guilded. She'd be perfect," Vander mused as he followed Bickslow's gaze to where Lucy and Kaleb were sitting. "Do you think they realize that they're not using their words?"

"No idea, but she's asking Kaleb for a favor so I'm willing to bet that she'll end up guilded."

"Good. Any ideas on what exactly is going on between her and Cris?"

"Weird dragon shit." Bickslow turned slowly with narrowed eyes. "Why so curious?"

"She's a beautiful, unattached woman. Why wouldn't I be curious?"

"Because Laxus would fry your ass? And I have no fucking idea of what exactly is going on between her and Cris. Em might not mind cheering you on."

"I'll take my chances. What about your team?"

"Ever has money on Cris and Freed has money on Kaleb."

"And you?"

"I'd prefer not to risk my life over it."

They watched as Kaleb and Lucy stood.

"Think they're going to go have sex?" Vander asked.

"Probably going to deal with her induction paperwork."

"Why do you insist on the boring, practical answers?"

"I'm not boring," Bickslow grumbled as his babies started lightly hitting Vander who swatted them away.

 _I'll okay Lucy for this mission. Also, I'm going to win the bet_ , Kaleb told them.

 **You know, it's only The Bachelorette if Lucy spends time with all of them.**


	15. Chapter 15

**I owns nothing. FT belongs to Mashima and the Pradeshes belong to Desna.**

 **You guys are absolutely amazing!**

They hadn't kissed yet when Vander popped into Kaleb's office and stole the blonde away, sticking his tongue out at his brother as he did. It took three stops to get to where they were going. The first was to shift Lucy into his chest. The other two were meant for Lucy to get a brief respite from the Voids.

"Fuck," Lucy cursed as she dry-heaved into a bush next to the road. "What the fuck was that?"

"The Voids." Vander flinched as he heard Kaleb scolding him. _The kiss is just a formality,_ he retorted. That small distraction gave Lucy the opening to kick him and he didn't have the chance to use his shadows to keep him from crashing into a tree.

"Ow. Fuck."

"I'm about to beat you senseless."

Vander stood and walked over to her. "We're on the border of Stella and Joya. You wouldn't leave me out here and defenseless, would you?"

She paused and didn't try concealing the fact that she was considering it from her face. "Only because I don't want to explain to your father that you were abducted to be a sex slave to a Joyan warqueen."

"Ouch. You can turn that off, right?" he asked, nodding towards her dragon tattoo.

Lucy's dragon had moved onto her shoulder where it looked poised to attack with its wings open down her arm and up her neck. She glanced down and the tattoo disappeared in golden sparks like her spirits then opened her mouth so that he could she no longer had her fangs.

"Why are we here?"

"There's a slavery ring that's been taking travelers in the area. We suspect for Joya."

"So…search and destroy?"

"No. Intel right now. Farron's working on an export treaty on the condition that they stop their slave trade. They argue that they've scaled back but he doesn't believe them. Yada yada. Here we are," Vander said as he randomly picked a direction and started walking.

"Why me?"

"Because your magic is kinda perfect for this."

Lucy hummed. "Why do I get the feeling that your entire plan is for us to walk down this road and hope to get kidnapped?"

"Because it is."

"I kinda hate you."

"No, you don't."

"I really kinda do."

"Well I have a few ideas that'll change your mind. None of them involve clothes though."

"And who's to say you can keep up?"

"Back to this, huh? There are only a few things that I do better than sex."

"Color me impressed?" she said skeptically.

He stopped and turned to her. She met his gaze with a cocky 'I dare you' look. They stayed like that for a few seconds to see who would crack first before Vander pulled her to him and kissed her. She'd acknowledge that he was good with his tongue as it moved with hers. He walked her back against a tree and lifted her up so that her legs wrapped around him.

"When was the last time you were kissed like that?" he asked softly, not putting her down.

"A few days ago with your brother," she retorted, ignoring the soft pant in her voice.

"Ugh. You wound me, Starfire."

She pulled him down to another kiss. "We've got company," she said as she made it look like she was nibbling on his ear.

"Remind me to bring you on more missions," Vander murmured, resisting the urge to moan when she actually did bite his ear.

Lucy recognized the sleep spell and let it take her.

-oOo-

 _You know, I thought this would stop happening when I became a dragon slayer_ , Lucy thought as she awoke. The feeling of waking on cold cement was depressingly familiar.

She stayed still and did an inventory check. Nothing was broken and most of the soreness could be attributed to the awkward position her body was in. The ever-present hum of her keys was gone so they'd been taken from her. Again. There was a secondary magic. She guessed shielding around whatever cell or room she was in. That made her realize that she wasn't wearing magic cancelling cuffs.

 _Well that's just rude_ , she thought as opened her eyes and stretched to remove the kinks. The room was a dull, cold space with stone walls and floor. The most interesting thing was the lacrimas that were being used to shield the room.

She sat cross-legged with her arm in front of her. Cristoff thought that she should be able to manifest her dragon slayer abilities without Draco's key.

 _'_ _The magic is inside you,' he says. 'You just have to summon it,' he says._

She wasn't sure how long she stayed like that, focusing on the familiar sensation of the dragon on her skin. Summoning the magic like that hurt, she found out. A lot. She bit on the cloth of her sarong to keep from crying out. It stung like hundreds of needles pricking her skin. After the pain subsided, it took her a few minutes to steady her breathing.

"I'm never taking you off again," she said to the dragon.

She was grateful for the amount of time that she'd spent around Levy and Freed that she was able to rewrite the basic runes. Again, she found it disappointing how easy it was.

"Eenie meenie miney moe," Lucy said to pick a direction and start walking.

"You know guys, you could just let me go," Lucy heard Vander say through the door.

"You having any luck?" a man said in Stellan.

"No. You?" another responded.

"I think we'll Jambers' blades. They can cut through anything. The Joyans will want to see the merchandise."

"All right."

"Awe. Performance issues? Happens to all of us. Well, not me but you know what I'm trying to say."

Lucy moved away from the door when she heard Vander's jailers walking out. Like their underestimation of her magic, they hadn't thought to take the rantai wrapped around her wrist. One, she knew was dead. She'd felt his neck snapping through the chain. The other, she wasn't sure about.

When she opened the door, she found Vander tied to an X-frame.

"You know, if you wanted someone to tie you up, you could've just asked."

"I've got handcuffs at home. Get me down."

She giggled as she walked over to him. Just to mess with him, she ran her hand up along his side.

"If you keep that up, I'm gonna tie you up here and have my way with you."

"I think you should be extolling my virtues right now. Otherwise, I'll leave you up there," she reminded him as she studied the lock.

"I'm your ride home."

"I'm resourceful. I'm also not getting this off. It's locked with a key."

"Can't you star blast it or something?"

"Sure. It'll also kill both of us in the process." The sass left her voice. "I um don't have enough control." She sighed. "I need Cancer's scissors."

"Didn't they take your keys?"

She moved so that she was standing in front of him with her hands on her hips. "You really did choose me because I use holder and caster magic, didn't you?"

"Do you know how many mages use both? Not many. Their lacrimas always kept me out and I wasn't going to get myself kidnapped without an exit strategy."

"So you do use your brain for something other than getting in people's pants."

"That is my favorite way to use it though."

She closed her eyes. "Listen for guards."

She felt Draco first. Her connection to Draco's key felt like a spring pulled taut. She wanted it to feel like that because it would pull her other keys with it. "Gotcha," she murmured and opened her eyes as the keys materialized in front of her.

"How did you do that?"

"Draco's key can't be taken from me. I found that if I keep his key on my key ring, it can summon all of them to me. It took me two weeks to master it. Open, gate of the crab, Cancer!"

"Ebi. You need a new 'do?"

She glanced at Vander's hair.

"Don't even think about it."

She kept the evil grin as she said, "Can you cut him down from there?"

"No problem, Baby. You should see if Virgo wants that though." Vander was down seconds later.

"Hm. Good point." She summoned Virgo. "You want that?"

"If you don't mind, Princess. Will you use it on me?"

"No!" She blushed as Virgo bowed and disappeared with it. Cancer left as well.

"I like her."

"Stay away."

The two of them continued their absentminded bickering as they wandered through the underground hallways. They were stopped by two more men and Vander showed her how quickly he could dispatch them.

"Show off."

"Impressed?"

"I'll show you impressed."

The set that they came across, Lucy took out using her rantai.

"Four to two," Lucy taunted.

"Why do you have two more?"

"The two that were with you?"

"They don't count."

"And why not?"

"Because they were from before we started counting."

"That's bullshit. You're just-" Lucy was interrupted by screaming. "Wasn't expecting that," she said as they ran towards the screaming.

They ran towards the sound and found a two people. There were another half-dozen bodies scattered around the room. Standing near the center of the room was two figures. The man was on his knees and looked relatively unscathed, but his face was contorted in pain. The other was a fairly diminutive figure. The second figure's features were obscured by the silver-lined navy cloak. However, it was the blue swords of light that Lucy recognized.

"Meredy?"

"Huh?" The woman turned and when she recognized Lucy, she grinned. "Lucy! Hi. Are you here on a job? Do you need him?"

"I don't know." She turned to her partner. "Van, do we need him?"

"Probably?" he said with a shrug.

Lucy turned back to the mage. "Yeah. Don't kill him."

"I don't kill anymore but okay." Her blades disappeared as Vander approached the man.

"What did you do to him?" Vander asked, recognizing the early signs of pain induced shock.

"Hm? Oh. I use a lost magic, maguility sense. I don't have to physically hurt him to- you know- hurt him."

Vander stood, walked over to the women, and draped his arms over their shoulders. Meredy flushed at being tight to him. "You know, I love Presca. He's a great partner. But don't want to have sex with him. If you two ever wanted-"

"No," Lucy said, worming away from him.

"That accent. Boscan?"

"Yup."

Her red eyes raked over him. "You know, I haven't been to Bosco in awhile."

"You've been?" Vander said, shifting towards Meredy more and ignoring Lucy who rolled her eyes.

"Because of my magic, my mother thought a Boscan sudehpah might be the best for me," Meredy said breathlessly.

"I was so good-"

"Do we have time for this currently?" Lucy asked.

"No," Vander said, stepping away from Meredy and walking over to the half-conscious man. "I'm gonna take him with me. You two figure out how to get us outta here."

"Yeah, yeah. Go." Lucy watched as Vander and the man were overtaken by his shadows.

"Come on. I think I got in this direction," Meredy said, walking the opposite direction than Lucy and Vander had been.

"Where's your team? Where's Jellal and-" Lucy stopped. There was more than a little bitterness in her mouth at the fact that Erza had disappeared. The last time she'd seen her teammate had been when Master disbanded the guild.

"Erza? Someone left a request at one of our drops. The two have been arguing non-stop over it. I almost miss having to hear them having sex."

"Yeah. Didn't need to know that."

"Sorano mostly stays near Crocus for personal reasons that she won't say. Macbeth stays with her a lot of the time. He doesn't like doing a lot of travelling. Richard and Sawyer never stop. Erik's disappeared. That's another thing they've been fighting over. We were in between quests and had stopped for a while. I just didn't want to deal with it."

"Erik's with us. Guilded with White Sea."

"That's unexpected."

"You're more than welcome to come with us. How did you get up here?"

Meredy pulled a small lacrima out of her pocket. "It's only got one more jump in it though." They paused at a fork. "This way, I think."

"Why is it so big down here?"

"You're not going to like the answer."

"Why?"

"They might have as many as twenty victims down here."

"You're right. I didn't like that answer."

"I think you and your friend were their first for a new delivery."

"Joy. Is there anybody left?" Lucy asked as she stepped over a body.

Meredy shrugged. "I was dealing with issues."

"Stairway to heaven," Lucy said with a slight smile when they found a staircase going up.

"Better than a highway to hell."

"Been there. Done that."

As soon as they were above ground, she was hit by Kaleb bombarding her senses looking her and his brother.

 _Fuck. Stop._

 _Lucy?_

"Are you all right?" Meredy asked.

"Yeah. Just a pain in the ass mindbender." _Who else are you bombarding?_ Lucy asked.

 _No one but you need to get back immediately._

 _I'm kind of stuck in the middle of nowhere._ She sent him what she saw. The stairway led up to a small shack that was built to shield the stairs. The coarse wood nearly blended with the trees.

 _Who's that?_

 _A friend._

 _How'd they get there?_

 _Teleportation lacrima._

 _Borrow it. Van will take her home._

Kaleb chuckled through the link when he heard her thought, _His or hers?_ flicker through.

"Can I use the lacrima? Van will take you home."

"You two fight like an old married couple. Any opposition to me having him for a night…or two?"

"We're definitely not a couple so no." Lucy unwrapped one of the rantai from around her wrist and passed it to her. "This will show that you didn't just kill me and dump my body. Have him bring it back to me at White Sea tomorrow."

Meredy studied the craftmanship. "Okay. This is really nice," she said absently as she passed Lucy her lacrima.

The protections around the guild prevented Lucy from entering with the lacrima. She landed just outside with an oomph.

 _Where is he?_ Lucy asked, already knowing the problem.

 _I put him in your apartment. Fourth floor, apartment five._

 _Is the moonlust already starting?_

 _He did tell you. Yes. He came over to bring your belongings from his apartment-_

"Lucy," Cristoff said when she entered.

She ignored the view that Kaleb had picked out or the bags on the floor. Her attention was on the dragon slayer sitting on the couch. She walked over and situated herself on his lap. The magic that she'd imagined feeling the first time he'd brought up his moonlust didn't feel like this. The magic swirling around him was antsy and nervous.

"Hey," she said softly, stroking his cheeks. The magic settled before becoming the arousing sensation that she'd imagined.

 _Wasn't the goal for him not to be your knight?_

 _Yeah, but it started solidifying before I realized it._

 _That's kind of an important-_

"Do you remember that offer you made? What if as my queen, you stopped the moonlust?"

"I remember."

"Do you want to try?"

Lucy pulled him down into a kiss as her answer.

 _-Intimacy isn't always kissing. It can be-_

 _Kaleb?_

 _Yeah?_

 _Shut up._

I_I_I_I_I_I_I_I_I_I_I_I_I_I_I_I_I_I_I_I_I_I_I_I_I_I_I_I_I_I_I_I_I_I_I_I_I_I_I

Kaleb felt Lucy's orgasm at whatever his brother did. Thane looked up from his tablet when Kaleb's head hit his desk. It was the second time the woman left him aroused. Though, judging by the fact that the guild wasn't going crazy, he guessed that his brother's theory had proven true.

"Thane, you can go home for the day."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes. I'm headed to the bathhouse anyways."

"Ah. Yes, sir."

Before leaving himself, Kaleb checked to see what attendants were working. He was in the mood for blonde hair.

 **That was still lemon water, right?**


	16. Chapter 16

**Despite how fun this is, I own nothing but the new keys.**

"This is a bad idea," Bickslow said.

"She's the one that wanted this back. And she'll probably want these." Lucy heard a faint jangling as Vander opened her door.

"Rise and-" He was interrupted by a pillow to his face.

"Told you. She's got an arm," Bickslow said laughing.

"Go away." Her voice was muffled as she snuggled up into her bed.

"It's noon, Starfire."

"Go away."

"Cristoff jumped home and brought back cooking from Mr. Elan. There was an emergency at Pelerno though," Bickslow said.

Lucy lifted her head and sniffed. Even without dragon senses, she could smell the strawberries. Bickslow arched an eyebrow at the glimpse of Lucy naked. The dragon was looped around her neck sleeping and she didn't seem particularly perturbed by the fact that her door wasn't closed. That was until he was smacked in the face with a pillow as she walked into the dining area of the apartment with nothing but a silk robe on.

"Did you like view?"

"That's a stupid question," he replied, tickling her sides as his totems echo around him.

"I haven't seen your babies around lately." Lucy piled her plate full of chocolate chip pancakes with homemade strawberry syrup and whip cream and moaned happily.

"Seith magic was outlawed here. It's how I ended up in Fiore. A lot of people still don't like it, so I prefer to leave them at home where they're safe if I'm leaving the guild."

Lucy gave him a smile before reaching up to cup Pipi gently. "Where's Erik?"

"Meredy dragged him shopping. She was yelling at him for nearly getting arrested." Bickslow looked sheepish for a moment. "Why-"

"Have you gotten in his pants yet?"

"Wha'?"

Lucy arched an eyebrow. "You have. That took less time than I was expecting. Van, pass me the juice."

Bickslow continued to sputter before finally saying, "You said we couldn't."

"And naturally, the first thing you do is ignore me."

Vander's first thought was that the evil little smile was one of the sexiest things he'd ever seen. Especially when paired with her general excitement over Mr. Elan's cooking. The next thought was that she was the kind of trouble he didn't want. She was the kind of trouble that would have him sleeping with one eye open if he pissed her off.

"How long were you two going at it?" Vander asked.

"Until four this fucking morning. I may be a dragon slayer but I don't have this kinda stamina yet. Speaking of which, I'm gonna go back to bed after this. I still have two more days."

He took it back, Vander decided. She was exactly the kind of crazy he liked.

 _The guild didn't nearly destroy itself like it nearly did the last time we didn't get Cris warded in time so the theory that you could smother his moonlust pheromones was accurate._

 _If you want to participate in a conversation you could, you know, actually participate instead of eavesdrop,_ Lucy thought.

 _This may have escaped your notice, but I have a guild to run._

 _You have time to eavesdrop._

 _I'm multitasking._

Lucy had realized that the conversation had stopped but hadn't paid any attention to the fact that the two men were watching her. "Shut up."

"Didn't say anything," Vander said with a chuckle. "Oh. Here."

Her jaw dropped and the fork clattered to the table when she saw the key ring that he was holding. She landed in his lap in her haste to get to them.

"Monoceros. Canes Venatici. Lupus. Pyxis. Nikora. Ursa Major," she murmured breathlessly as she ran her fingers along them. "Where did you get these?"

"They were with the information I was gathering. There was a note that they were intending on selling them to the Joyan warqueen. They belonged-"

"Contracted," she corrected.

"The wizard they were contracted to was in the last group sold. If you don't want them, we can-"

"It's more complicated than that. If their contracts are still active, then-"

"Maybe I can help with that." The spirit that appeared was a woman. She wore a bodysuit that tied behind her neck that was made from a fabric that seemed to flow as she moved. Her white-blonde hair was long and feathered. Her eyes were black. Wrapped around her head was a silver circlet with a circle in the center where Lucy imagined that her horn would be.

"You're Monoceros, aren't you?"

"Call me Ceros. Everyone does. Under normal circumstances, we would not consider our contracts voided, but he wasn't a pleasant master. Therefore, we are within our rights to consider it voided. Now, I know that you already have a contract with," she paused and a clipboard appeared in her hands, "Pyxis and one of the Canis Minors that you call Plue. Interesting name.

"Now, according to my records, you're in Bosco. I, personally, have no opposition to becoming contracted to you though my last master stole my key from a Sudehpah in Ceillis. I will allow you to decide if you want to keep my key or return me. Pyxis and Canis Minor are both aware that you'll probably give their key away and request that they are donated to the Acadame.

"The last master preferred keys that always made contracts regardless of if the wizard was dark or not. I was the only exception."

"Wait. Stop," Lucy said, standing. "He was a dark celestial wizard?"

"Yes," Monoceros replied matter-of-factly.

"What was his name?" Vander asked.

"Simon Ambers."

"I remember that. Nearly beat the Sudehpah to death."

"Why did you make the contract with him?"

"He threatened to break my key. My other keys are lost. If he broke this one, I could be trapped in the celestial realm. I am very old and my realm gets boring. It's why we agreed to these contracts in the first place."

"Which would you prefer?" Lucy asked.

Monoceros froze. While she'd heard about this wizard, she hadn't expected to be asked that question. "I would prefer to stay with you. I enjoyed working with Sudehpahs but even that gets tedious."

Lucy nodded. "I understand."

"Shouldn't you have a horn?" Bickslow asked.

"A horn is a safety hazard. Why would I choose to have a horn when I don't need one? I use my other form when I'm called into battle," she said snippily to the seith mage. "As I'm sure you know, I'm a battlefield healer and I can summon myself in the event that you're knocked unconscious. Good day."

Lucy took the time to make contracts with all of the spirits except Pyxis and Canis Minor. Monoceros took note of everything that she said. Canes Venatici were two large dogs named Caroli and Superba, whose heads came up to Lucy shoulders. They communicated telepathically and spent most of the time arguing with each other over their availability. Lupus could smell Cristoff on her and decided he liked her before rolling onto his back and demanding belly rubs.

Ursa Major was a hulking man that would give even Cristoff a run for him money in size. His chest was bare, and he wore leggings but no shoes. On his back was a bear pelt with the head over his own and the paws attached to his wrists and ankles. The coldness in his gaze almost made her change her mind about making the contract. The only thing that stopped her from changing her mind was that he looked excited for the amount of trouble she got into.

"Thank you," she said to Vander, kissing him lightly.

"Celestial spirits are weird," he commented. "And I thought Bix's were strange."

"Yeah, yeah. Now go away. I'm going back to bed." She kissed both of them goodbye before ushering them out of her apartment and dragging her feet to bed.

*.*.*

The next two days followed a similar pattern. Lucy and Cristoff spent all night having sex. As much as she griped in the morning, she wasn't immune to his pheromones and was as insatiable as he was when they hit her. During the morning, he doted on her. Helped ease the aches in her muscles.

Then, he ignored her grumblings and forced her train. The first day, the two ended up in a stand-off in her living room. They'd trained together during that week in Pelerno so he was frustrated with her refusal. On the other hand, she was trying to pace herself with the sex-a-thon that she knew would happen that night.

He scooped her up and threw her over his shoulder. Loke, sensing her distress, popped out of his gate. It took him a moment to recognize Cristoff as Nurem's dragon slayer. Then, to Lucy's loud annoyance, let him pass by despite the fact that Cristoff was hauling his mistress off like a sack of potatoes.

Cristoff's idea of training ended up not being as bad as Lucy had feared. He'd commandeered part of one of the stadiums and set up targets for her to hit with her star blasts.

About an hour into their training the first day, Erik came storming into the training grounds.

"You- You tricked us."

She gave him a smirk and tilted her head to the side as if she couldn't decide if she was mischievous or cute. "Yup."

He'd expected some resistance to that claim.

"You two would be perfect together, but you're Fiorian. I figured that if I told you that you couldn't do something, you'd do it just to spite me. How'd I do?"

"Uh… You're not wrong."

She made a shooing motion with her hands. "Go mate. Have fun. Don't destroy anything."

Erik picked her up, swung her around, then nuzzled her neck. "Thanks, your highness."

"Yeah, don't call me that."

He ran off with the intent of finding Bickslow and claiming him. Lucy turned back to Cristoff with a sigh.

"Let's get back to it."

By the end of those two days, she was glad that Kaleb had already lined up jobs for her with the Thunder Legion. The damage was fairly extensive, but Kaleb kept reminding her that she was only responsible for ten percent of the repair costs since that was what the training fields were for.

Freed had gone with Farron on a diplomatic mission to Sin. While Kaleb wouldn't acknowledge it when Lucy needled, part of the reason he'd wanted her with the Thunder Legion was that he wanted to ensure that there'd be a tactician replacing Freed.

Lucy enjoyed her time with the Thunder Legion. Laxus was often an overprotective big brother that she'd learned early on was fun to mess with. When Bickslow returned with Erik in tow, the small pranks they pulled usually involved how many of his buttons they could push. Her and Evergreen were immune to the shocks that he sent after Bickslow and Erik.

"You're giving me gray hairs," Laxus said as he slumped over the bar. They were back at the guild after their last job before Freed and Farron returned.

"Really? Where?" she asked trying to climb up her kin to find the strands of hair.

"Stop that."

Lucy giggled. "Lucky for you, Kaleb wanted to see me when we got back."

"Is that why you're all dressed up?" he asked glancing at the short, purple dress that was cinched at the waist and revealed a lot of cleavage.

"Nope. It's just comfy." She hadn't knocked yet when Kaleb told her to enter. "Hi. How are you?"

Kaleb was still looking at the tablet when she entered. His gaze roved over her before snapping to her face. The amusement in her gaze had him swallowing.

"Sit," he said, gesturing to the chair opposite him. "Freed is returning today."

"I know."

"I have no problem with you staying with them or going solo but even the pay on their jobs is going to start getting tight with as many people. As you know, our system allots for independent mages to be teamed up for specific jobs. That'll give you a chance to work with multiple magic types. I've also spoken to Meredy a few times since the full moon and told her that she's welcome to consider a place here."

"What about the rest of Crime Sorciere?"

"Meredy was not directly implicated in any crimes and I was able to use Erik's participation in defeating the dragons to allow him entrance. The others…"

"I understand."

"My other offer is to stay here and work at the guild. There are many jobs that help keep this guild running and from what I understand, you were key in saving the Heartfilia Konzern. I could use your help in accounts. It would also mean that you wouldn't have to call in every day to see if the program has figured out what language your symbols are."

She hmphed before asking, "Can I do all the above?"

Kaleb smiled and shifted the stack of papers from the corner of his desk in front of her. "I'd guessed you'd say that." He watched her as she went through contracts, listened to her thoughts as she'd made modifications and addendums to them, and remembered her question about if he judged people solely on their thoughts and not their actions. Except, she didn't understand that minds like hers made her one of the most beautiful people to him. Especially when she'd glance up with a warning look at him the moment he'd tried to intrude on her mind palace again.

"Share pleasure with me?" he asked as soon as she finished. She smiled and he immediately heard Havasi's 'Rise of the Instruments' shielding her mind from him.

"Sorry, but that wasn't one of my impossible thoughts today." 

**I keep being mean to poor Kaleb…**


	17. Chapter 17

**Hey. Two chapters in a day. That apparently happened.**

With Bickslow mated, someone leaking that Cristoff was her knight, and Farron's return, Arman told his extended group of children in no uncertain terms that they'd all be home for dinner. There was a not so subtle threat when Kaleb tried to get out of it.

"Xally's coming from the hospital. Em and Cris are coming from the Pelerno branch. Farron and Freed are coming from the capital. Vander is-"

"And Meredy," Kaleb added as Lucy listed who all would be there. The group coming from White Sea was boarding an airship together.

"Hm. Really? That's interesting."

"Yeah. She couldn't get a direct flight to White Sea. She was hanging out with Vander when Dad demanded we all come for dinner. You know that Dad doesn't mind us bringing potential sons or daughters-in-law home with us."

The conversation between the two of them returned to the book on code that she'd borrowed from him.

 _That smile was suspicious_ , Erik thought.

 _I was thinking the same thing,_ Kaleb responded, looping Bickslow into the conversation.

 _Is this about Cosplayer scheming something?_

 _Yeah. It makes me nervous when she smiles like that_ , Erik replied.

 _Are either of you hearing anything?_ Bickslow asked.

 _Yes. Moonlight Sonata by Beethoven_ , Erik said.

 _I'm even getting a ballet with the music. If I probe any deeper, she'll sense it._

 _She probably like it if you probed her._

Kaleb choked. Next to him, Lucy looked confused then amused.

"I'm gonna tell your dad that your talking about me behind my back." With that, she stood joined Evergreen and Laxus. The latter looked relieved at someone else being there for Evergreen to talk Elluris fashion with.

As they approached the Pradesh home, Lucy noticed that Erik was looking increasingly nervous. They'd barely made it out of the car when Arman decided he'd waited long enough burst out the door with his children trailing behind him.

"I'm so happy for you, Bix!" he said, wrapping his arms around his son.

"Thanks, Dad."

"And you!" he said, turning to Erik. "Welcome to the family!" He engulfed Erik in a hug as well.

Erik stood frozen, his eye wide like a deer in the headlights. Lucy hugged. Meredy hugged. This? This he didn't know how to deal with. This was terrifying.

Farron and Kaleb were chuckling. They both could hear his inner commentary. Lucy was giggling because she could guess what he was thinking.

"Cosplayer tricked us to get us together," Bickslow said, deciding to save his mate.

Arman released Erik and turned to Lucy. "Good job," he said as he tossed an arm over Lucy's shoulder and started steering her to the house.

"What am I, chopped liver?" Kaleb muttered as he trailed behind his dad.

 _Very attractive chopped liver_ , Lucy told him.

"Hello, Kaleb. Hello, Laxus and Evergreen."

Lucy frowned when Cristoff and Emzadi appeared. In theory, she was supposed to be able to make jumps like that too. She just hadn't managed to do more than disappear from her spot for a second and appearing an inch away. That had proved useful for avoiding an attack but still annoying when she knew Cristoff could make it from Pelerno to White Sea in a single jump.

"Hello, Cris, Em," Arman greeted as they entered the house.

"Hi, Dad. So, what's the deal with this whole knight thing?" Emzadi asked, sidling up on Lucy's other side.

The table was already set with food since Kaleb had them running late to leave as he tried to get some last-minute paperwork done before sending Thane home. Knowing that, Cristoff had stayed in his own office for a bit longer.

"Honestly, I'm not real sure. I've summoned Draco and he's kind of explained things. Normally, the queen of a tatsu only has a knight if the tatsu is particularly large and requires that the queen's mate spend a significant time away from her or if the mate isn't as strong as the knight since the knight would be expected to protect not only his own mate but the queen.

"He thinks the wires got crossed between Cris and I. That because Draco and Nurem are mates, our souls couldn't decide between kin or mate, so they chose knight as a middle ground."

 _She's still scheming something_ , Kaleb said to Bickslow and Erik while Lucy explained what she'd learned from her dragon. _All I'm hearing is Moonlight Sonata on repeat._

 _I've noticed._

"What exactly makes you a queen?" Meredy asked, realizing that she was the only one out of the loop.

"I'm a dragon slayer."

"When did that happen?"

"It's been a few months."

"Oh."

"While Em is undoubtedly more powerful, a queen is only a queen with subjects. I have three kin-"

"Four," Erik interjected quietly.

"Aw. Really."

Lucy stood and walked over to hug him. The slayer found himself in both the awkward and enviable position of being nearly smothered by her breasts. Uncertain of his mate's reaction, Erik glanced at Bickslow who mostly looked amused and envious. He decided to nuzzle in making her squeak, jump, then cuff his head.

"Don't do that," she scolded as she walked back to her seat. She changed the music in her head to _Macabre Danse,_ knowing that the violin would annoy him. "Anyways, with four kin, I outrank her."

"Got it. What about his mate?"

"That's where things will get complicated. His mate will have to deal the fact that he'll always be my knight as well as her- their spouse."

 _You caught that right?_ Erik asked.

 _Yes…_

 _Do it and I'll have Cancer cut off your hair in your sleep,_ Lucy threatened before Kaleb could even consider probing deeper. _And your leather pants will end up bedazzled with rhinestones._

 _No one listens when I say not to piss her off_ , Bickslow said with an eye roll.

"Even if we're not sharing pleasure, there'll always be an intimacy between us. Add in that I'm a naturally touchy person and-" Lucy shrugged.

Meredy looked over Cristoff. His eyes met her curious gaze and she blushed. "I'd deal with it," she mumbled.

"And hopefully, my mate will as well," Cristoff said, recognizing her scent of arousal.

"And really, it would be a shame if she didn't. He's really good in bed. He does this trick with his tongue-"

"Please stop," Laxus groaned.

"I'm sure Em would be very happy if you asked him to teach you," Lucy said, not even pretending to be innocent.

"If it's the trick I think it is, I learned it from a very skilled Minstrellan man. It's a shame he was only in Bosco for a few days enjoying himself before an arranged marriage." While Boscans respected marriage, they weren't above assisting someone having a last hurrah before an arranged marriage since so many of the countries around them insisted on the tradition. Especially those that don't get to meet their spouses-to-be ahead of time.

Somehow, the conversation devolved into a contest amongst the Pradesh siblings comparing conquests. Nobody was surprised that Vander took the lead.

After dinner finished and Arman insisted that it was Kaleb and Vander's turn to clear the table, Farron walked up to Lucy and asked to speak with her alone while the others fought over what board game to play.

"I need to ask you for a favor," Farron said.

"Okay?"

He sighed. He'd rather hoped that he could get her to agree without telling her for what. "I need a date for a ball."

She blinked owlishly at him for a moment. "You have a very handsome promised only a few feet away from us."

"He won't go."

"You're a politician. Your entire job is to convince people to do things they don't normally want to do." She paused then asked in a suspicious tone, "What's the ball for?"

"Princess Hisui's birthday."

"And Lord Justine will be there," she said understandingly. "Wait. My father will be there. No."

"Lucy-"

"No. My father has not known where I've been for the last eight months. Do you have any idea of how peaceful that's been? I go on your arm, he knows I'm in Bosco."

"Are you scared of him?" he asked, his brows furrowing.

"My first two kidnappings were paid for by him. Without Fairy Tail or the prestige of working for Sorcerer Weekly…"

"Lucy, you're a member of White Sea. I know. I put that mark on you," Kaleb said from the doorway.

"At least your eavesdropping in person," Lucy muttered.

"White Sea is the largest guild in Ishgar."

"Exactly. The largest guild with over a thousand mages. It would be easy for me to go missing."

"Lucy." Kaleb reached out to touch her, but she shifted away, so he let his hand drop. "You're in my life now. If you think I'm letting you get away, then you're a fool. And we both know you're not. Understand?" Lucy nodded. "Good. Now agree to go with my brother and let's go play some board games."

She turned to Farron. "You have to agree to never let me be alone with my father for more than five minutes."

"Agreed. I'll arrange a pick up for you in a week."

The group walked back inside. Before Lucy could settle down next to Laxus, Meredy moved to take her turn with the celestial wizard. Taking the opportunity presented to her, Lucy casually bumped Meredy into Cristoff as they were walking. Cristoff jumped as he felt the electricity in his veins and his dragon reacting loudly enough that Kaleb and the sound mages could hear it. His eyes flickered silver as he stared at the maguility mage. Then he glanced at Lucy who nodded. The sonata that she'd been playing in her head finally ceased.

Cristoff was torn. Part of him wanted to hoist Meredy and run off with her like some sort of caveman. The other side could sense Lucy telling him not to do exactly that. His queen wanted to handle this first and his dragon was sulking. He bared his neck, showing that he acquiesced, and Lucy pulled the reluctant Meredy out to the balcony.

This time, Lucy pushed herself up onto the railing and watched as Meredy paced.

"You know, I seem to always have deep, important conversations on this balcony," she mused to herself.

"I'm his mate, aren't I?" Meredy asked, ignoring Lucy's commentary.

"Yes. How do you feel?"

"Like I need whiskey."

"I'm sure that can be arranged."

"How long have you known?"

"Since we got out of the bunker and my magic could expand fully. Apparently, that's a trick that the queen can do."

"That's why you wanted me to stay in Bosco."

"Yes. And do you know how hard it was to get you two to meet without being super obvious?"

"Why not be obvious?"

"What would you have done? You're already half ready to bolt out the door and you've talk to him."

"Do I have time to get to know him?"

"Yes, though, you should mate before the full moon."

"That's in a week and a half."

"I know."

"And if I say no?"

"Then he waits until his dragon reacts again. His dragon reacted to you because your personality and your magic is a good fit for him. And vice versa. But if you decide, that's it. If you change your mind halfway through the marking, you'll probably kill him."

Lucy held out her hand with her wrist bared. It took Meredy a moment to realize what she was doing before linking them with her magic. With a small smile, Lucy let Meredy feel everything she felt toward the lunar slayer.

There was attraction and arousal which Meredy understood having been around the man. There was amusement when he's being playful. Awe in his skill. Annoyance in her inability to emulate him. Frustration when they trained. Safe whenever he was around. Happiness because she knew how much he wanted to find his mate.

Meredy undid the magic.

"Well?"

"I always imagined being wooed."

"Then make him woo you for a week," she said, dropping down. "He's already planning on wooing for the rest of your lives. Come on."

"Wait. I need to tell you. I found what the job is that Erza and Jellal have been fighting about. The Council wanted Erza's help on infiltrating a dark guild, Avatar. Since it's a Council job, Erza wants Jellal to stay away."

"That sounds dangerous."

"Immensely."

"Thanks. I'll keep an eye on it."

The two went inside to enjoy the night with friends.

 _Are you okay?_ Kaleb asked Lucy.

 _Yeah. Thanks._ She met his eyes and smiled. _I think I'll be staying at the guild for the next week though. Guess we'll see how much you really want me around._

 _I'll always want you around_ , he replied. _However, I think you'll have to be the one that asks to share pleasure next time._ He sent his own image of her writhing underneath him. All of the dragon slayers heard her breath catch, though only Erik chuckled with a knowing smirk.

 _Shut up_ , she said while wishing she had a better retort.

He'd worry about his hair except that he knew how much she liked it. _It's not going to stay an impossible thought._


	18. Chapter 18

**I had an absurdly hard time with this chapter.**

 **You guys are absolutely fucking amazing!**

 **I don't own FT, the Pradesh Family, or Criminal Minds which inspired the first scene.**

"She knows something," Loke said, summoning himself into Lucy's brand-new office. The private office had surprised her. It was near Kaleb's and had a great view of the mountains.

"Come on in," Lucy said absently as she poured over financial reports.

"She's acting weird. Not her normal obsessive weird but like-"

"It's not like I'm doing anything in here," Lucy muttered, largely ignoring the pacing spirit.

"The woman is scheming and manipulative and I don't believe for a moment that it's merely the fact that you're a dragon slayer-"

"I'm really busy here, Loke."

"So you don't want to hear about how I think that Cassiopeia actually knows where her key is and won't say something?"

Lucy froze as her friend's words processed. "Okay," she said giving him her undivided attention.

"Thank you. I think that Cassi knows where hers and the others' keys are."

"Why won't she say?"

"Anna might've made her promise. Or it's not so much that she knows where they are but going on around them that has her in a tizzy. Anytime that there's been a female celestial wizard of any skill, she's tried to persuade their spirits to try to find the keys. But she's up in arms, driving all of us nuts."

"Do you have any ideas?"

"No. Anna was careful to be secretive. She went as far as to leave her keys in Bosco at the time."

Lucy hummed as she stood and started for the door.

"Where are we going?" Loke asked.

" _We_ are not going anywhere. _I'm_ going to talk to Kaleb."

"Harsh, Lucy. Though, if you're not going to marry me, he's a good second option."

"I'm not marrying anybody. And you're not a general option. The knight bond with Cris is bad enough. Being with Kaleb would mean staying here. And I have enough jewel in my savings that I could go anywhere. Become anyone."

"I dunno. I think Lucy Pradesh sounds fairly interesting." Before she could hit him, Loke disappeared.

"Meddling spirit," she said.

It had taken three days and plying Thane with coffee and scones, to get a handle on Kaleb's schedule. On Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, he started the day with two hours in the gym before heading into his office. On Tuesdays and Thursdays, he spent the first half of the day either training with other mages or working with in the guild's research and development lab. Generally, if he was in the lab, he needed to be reminded to eat lunch as Lucy had learned. The guild tended to party and relax on the weekends, so he took that time to be around the other mages.

The view from her office included a bit of the training grounds so she was headed to the guildmaster mansion. She walked in and sat on the arm of the couch.

"I think we need to put a temporary lead on Team Burgos while Solomon is on paternity leave. Somehow, they managed to chase a monster five miles into a town before killing it."

"How bad?" he asked.

"Pretty bad. About two…" Her voice trailed off as she looked up from the tablet screen. Kaleb had walked out in nothing but a white thong causing Lucy to swallow. "You're…uh… They-" Lucy continued to stammer and make half-articulate words.

Kaleb watched her curiously. Her eyes roved everywhere, and he could hear her mind memorizing every detail of his body. However, it was almost as if her mouth had disconnected from her brain. That, in itself, he found humorous.

 _Can you please put on some clothes?_ she finally asked.

 _Are you sure you want me too?_

 _Not entirely but I still need to string words together into sentences._

He still didn't understand why she wasn't trying to play out one of the many fantasies that he was cataloging for future use. For her sake, he did go back and put on his pants. She wanted him. She wasn't hiding behind music like she usually did.

"That's not much better," she said when he walked out in just his leather pants. "It's also my turn to pick lunch and we're leaving the guild, so you need clothes."

"Fine. Did the computer give any recommendations?" he said as he walked back into his room to put on a shirt.

"Linda Fallwell."

"She'd have made a good match except she'd dated Ludolf. They were nearly promised before she started seeing someone else."

"Ouch. Okay. Nicolas Medvad?"

"He could work. And since it's a temporary assignment, it'll keep from having to come up with an excuse to get out of the team. Last one was expensive."

"All right. I'll send a notice."

"Thane can do that."

"Yeah, but I'm already in the system. And sent."

He stepped back into the living room with a smile for her. She sighed. It was Saturday, so she wasn't especially surprised that he wore a casual white button-down shirt with only the circlet around his head, the choker, and a few of his rings.

The restaurant that Lucy had picked out was Fioran. She'd been wandering through the city the day before. It wasn't until she'd had her favorite chicken and rice dish that she'd realized that she was a little homesick. Not enough to be looking forward to the ball with Farron, but a bit.

The two sat down at a table, amicably talking. Lucy had borrowed a book on mage technology. She was on the second volume but was still having trouble with some of the math. Instead of trying to write out where she was getting stuck, she'd let him into her mind palace so that he could see where she was getting stuck. More often than not, they'd forget to use their words.

 _Do you realize that was third time she's been by in ten minutes?_ Lucy asked as their waitress left the table.

Kaleb had heard the waitress's thoughts. That she was coming by in the hopes that he'd make the first move. Once upon a time, he might have entertained her, but it was the blonde across the table from him that he was most interested in. She was humming Chopin and still trying to finish the hypothetical code he'd given her.

The fourth time the waitress came to refill their drinks, she left a note: I get off in thirty minutes. Would you like to share pleasure?

Lucy read the note upside down and giggled. _My Boscan isn't the best but I'm pretty sure the syntax is wrong._

 _It is. That's all you have to say?_

 _I'm surprised it took so long?_ She gave him a confused look. _You're a healthy, Boscan man. A frankly beautiful one at that. Why wouldn't she want to share pleasure with you?_

 _I'm here with you._

 _So? I have no right to tell you that you can't._

It was at that moment that he realized something that had never occurred to him: that he could fall for someone that he'd never shared pleasure with. He wanted her to throw a fit. He wanted her to claim him.

Almost as if she could sense where his mind had gone, he saw her imagine kissing him. She grabbed his hair and pulled him into a kiss in the middle of the restaurant. It was so vivid that he almost touched his lips because he was certain he could feel hers on them.

 _Sorry. You weren't supposed to see that,_ she told him, a blush coloring her cheeks.

 _I don't mind. I'd mind even less if you actually did it._

She looked into his eyes, looking for a lie in his words. Instead, he allowed her to enter his mind.

 _"_ _Here," she said, flopping down in the seat across from him._

 _"_ _I'm not hungry," he said, not looking up._

 _"_ _That's impressive since it's been six hours since I dragged you out of here to eat lunch."_

 _He blinked and glanced at the clock. It was still a bit early for supper, but he normally would have stopped for a snack. There'd been an incident with a team and a dark guild along the Seven border. Initial reports had indicated that the team would have no problem. The team got out alive but just barely. A retrieval team had to be sent out and now the dark guild was taunting them._

 _"_ _Sorry."_

 _"_ _It's fine. I'm not ten anymore."_

 _He saw a flicker of a memory. Her father throwing a rice ball she'd made him on the floor. Her running out crying because she'd wanted to spend her birthday with her father._

 _"_ _Sorry," he repeated, regretting that he'd reminded her of her father for even a moment._

 _"_ _Here," she said, handing him the pastry container and coffee. He sipped the coffee, smiling at the fact that she knew how he liked it. He opened the pastry container and stared the dessert. It was a triangular, flaky, he honestly didn't know what it was. "Most people eat it with their hands."_

 _He could tell by her tone that she was enjoying the confusion on his face. She was very nearly giggling at the trepidation before taking pity on him and gave him a fork. The flaky layers wanted to fall apart, and he understood why it was normally eaten with their hands. When he finally took a bite, he moaned slightly. It was sweetened with rich honey with a slight nutty undertone._

 _"_ _It's called baklava. It's a Midish dessert. There was a café near my apartment in Magnolia that had the best coffee and desserts. I know how much you like honey, so I thought you'd like it." She smiled as she stood. "I'll come back in a few hours with actual food."_

 _Thane would remind him to eat but Lucy didn't give him an option in the matter. She respected when he was busy and would bring him food, but she'd sit there and bombard him with operatic music until he ate. Part of him didn't understand how he couldn't black her out like he could most people._

 _The following day, he asked Thane where he could get baklava. It surprised him when Thane said that the closest place was in Tahoe, the next town over._

Lucy blinked owlishly as the memory ended.

"You went that far for me."

"You were having a bad day."

"I don't know if I said thank you for that."

She smiled. "I'd do it again. We should get going though. Emi wanted to see me before Farron picks me up.

"I thought that wasn't until later."

"I need a dress. He was originally going to enlist Emi to do that, but I begged him not to."

He laughed when she relayed the exhausted mess she'd been in that last time she'd gone shopping with his sister. "I warned you."

Emzadi was waiting for them at the guild.

 _Save me_ , Lucy said to Kaleb when she saw the annoyed expression. However, it was too late, and the dragon slayer had grabbed Lucy and was half dragging, half carrying her into one of the privacy booths.

"Um…Emi. You're a beautiful woman but I'm really not into you," Lucy said when Emzadi released her.

"Hilarious. I want to mate Laxus."

"Okay."

"Okay? That's it?"

"What else am I supposed to say? You and I both know that it's up to the female dragon to claim their mate."

"Yeah but-"

"But he's still considering Mira. Who he's known half his life. Who left him. Though, knowing that he's still emotionally constipated, she probably never knew they were mates. But if you don't say that you want him, he's going to assume it's a fling. Woman up and go get your man."

"Big words coming from you."

Lucy flinched.

"You're planning on leaving as soon as you get the keys, aren't you?"

"I…don't know," Lucy admitted. "The knight bond with Cris was unplanned." Lucy sighed. "I should go finish getting ready."

"How many nights are you supposed to be in Fiore?"

"In theory, just tonight but he said to pack an extra change of clothes. Apparently, there's some trade issues that he's struggling to secure so if he gets an opportunity, we might stay an extra day. If it takes any longer than that, he'll just send me home."

"When is Laxus due back?"

"I'm not sure. I don't have my tablet with me. Tomorrow, I think. Freed only took this job to have an additional excuse to get out of the ball."

"Yeah, I know." Emzadi paused then slowly smiled. Suddenly, Lucy understood why they always said her smile was terrifying. "So how often have you been having meals with Kaleb?"

"Uh…" she murmured while trying to figure out if she could get out of the booth and trigger her meteor spell before Emzadi stopped her.

 _Kaleb!_

 _Sorry. Can't hear you._

 _Cancer. Your hair. And I really don't care how many fantasies you've heard concerning it._

 _Hm… Fine._

While Emzadi did let her up, there was something sneaky in her gaze. Something terrifying.

*.*.*

Lucy was not above acknowledging that she was hiding in her room until Farron arrived to pick her up. When she admitted that to Farron, he laughed. The two chatted amicably during the flight though he noticed that she started getting quieter as they approached the landing in Crocus.

"Are you all right?" he asked.

"Yeah. I'm just beginning to think the Fiorian gentry is like a black hole. It's impossible to get far enough to properly escape it."

"You could if you married a Boscan."

"Ugh. Not you too."


	19. Chapter 19

**Hello, my pretties. Excuse me while I gush at how amazing you are.**

 **There's a longer author's note at the end. This chapter was a lot easier because I've known it was coming for weeks. The next couple will probably come back to back for that reason.**

 **I own nothing but the lords and well…someone else can have them. I also** ** _really_** **don't own Disney but I'm also Floridian so that's debatable…**

Farron was waiting in the lobby of the Boscan Embassy for Lucy. He was dressed in a black tuxedo more in line with Fiorian customs. The white shirt underneath had his clan tattoos embroidered where the peeked out from his jacket. His long hair was braided down his back.

"I know. I'm late," Lucy said, trying to run in the full skirt of her blue-grey dress. She'd forgotten how much she hated tulle and how much it itched. The translucent tulle was used to give the skirt shape as well the pretense of modesty though her dragon tattoo was visible on her thigh. The bust concealed most of her cleavage but there was no hiding the size of the girls. The lace sleeves reminded her of Boscan formalwear.

"You look amazing."

"Thank you. So do you. By the way, if accompanying you to events like this means I get pampered like that every time, I might actually agree to them," Lucy said as she looped her arm with his. After dress hunting with an assistant assigned by the Embassy, she'd been taken for a spa treatment at a place she'd enviously passed when she lived in Crocus.

"I'll keep that in mind. There are a few places where I can't safely bring Freed to events like this, that I would still like to have someone beautiful on my arm. Especially places like Desierto where the conversations would be dull."

"Remember, no-"

"-More than five minutes with your father. How will I know it's him and not someone else from the gentry?"

"He'll be the one criticizing all my life choices. The others will be trying to see down my dress. And I'm here to protect you from marriage mothers."

.~*~.

Compared to the gaudier décor of the ballroom after the Grand Magic Games, the room appeared more mature. There was no buffet. Each little round table seated four and had small name cards. The tables had large bouquets of flowers as centerpieces. Strung from the chandeliers were garland instead of ribbons.

"Ambassador Farron Pradesh of Bosco. Lady Lucy Heartfilia of Fiore," the announcer said as they entered.

"I was hoping to avoid that," Lucy said through clenched teeth.

"Sorry."

The room had erupted into whispers. There were men and women that she recognized. Most she did not care for. Before her father, who was standing frozen, could approach her, Princess Hisui did first.

"Lady Lucy, I wasn't expecting you. Especially since your father arrived alone."

Lucy curtsied while Farron bowed. "Did he? I apologize for the confusion."

Hisui turned her gaze to Farron. "I had heard you'd promised."

"I have."

"It surprised me that you didn't even entertain the marriage contracts."

 _That's spoiled princess code for throwing temper tantrum for not getting her way_ , Lucy thought, knowing that Farron would hear her. He coughed, choking on his laughter.

"Are you all right?" Lucy said, turning so that only Farron could see her grin.

"Fine. I think that we should find our seats. I'm sure that my throat is merely parched. With your leave, your highness."

"Yes, you may go. Lucy, I would like to talk to you further at a later point tonight."

"Yes, your highness," Lucy said with another curtsy before following Farron to their table.

"Do you not like her?" Farron asked lowly.

"That's a complicated question with a complicated answer."

While Bickslow had been involved in the fight with the dragons, he hadn't known the full extent of the princess's involvement. He'd known even less about the spirits going crazy and that it was caused by the closing of the Eclipse Gate. Lucy's tone was more introspective, like a professor discussing a theory.

"So…do you like her or not?"

"I don't know. I just worry about her being irresponsible. She has magic but was never taught how to respect it. It's not an extension of who she is like it is for us."

"Fair enough." He sighed heavily. "Here comes the first."

"Hello, Ambassador Pradesh." Lucy immediately recognized the voice. Lady Tremaine couldn't successfully conceal her heart of ice underneath a honeyed voice. She was in that ridiculously conservative style that she was well-known for. It was as if she thought any skin was a sin. On the other hand, her two daughters wore ugly dresses and headpieces but with corsets designed to give them a profile.

"Hello." Farron trailed off as he stood and Lucy thought, _Lady Tremaine._ "Lady Tremaine."

"I'm so glad you remembered me." She turned her piercing gaze onto Lucy. "Miss Lucy."

"It's Lady Heartfilia until my father finds another heir."

Lady Tremaine's lips pursed. "Of course. Though, dressed like that, I'd have thought that you were a streetwalker that the ambassador paid to accompany him."

Both Farron and Lucy balked at the brazenness of her statement. _You heard that too, right?_ Lucy asked Farron who nodded slightly.

"That's a surprising thing for someone to say when you seemed to be trying to court the ambassador," Lucy said, standing and letting her hackles rise.

"Merely trying to understand his taste, that's all."

"I assure you, his taste is impeccable. After all, I'm sure that this isn't the first time that you've attempted to throw your daughters at him." Lucy turned slightly to Farron. "I rather think this dress is a good mix between Fiorian and Boscan. What do you think?"

"You're not wrong."

"Emi would consider it rather modest," she mused, tapping her chin.

"Probably." Farron could see the point that she was making with Lady Tremaine. He could also hear the older woman's slow realization.

Lucy turned back to Lady Tremaine with a haughty smile. "For future reference, if you're going to try to marry off one of your daughters to someone whose culture is different than yours, maybe you should get off your holier-than-thou high horse and bother ensuring that you don't insult his culture."

"Hmph," Lady Tremaine said. She marched off with her daughters in tow.

"I've wanted to do that half my life," Lucy said, watching her leave.

"Know her well?"

"She tried to marry my father after my mom died. That didn't work but Papa thought she was an excellent example for me and arranged lots of playdates with her evil daughters. I thought she'd retired from balls and whatnot after Ella's marriage."

"Who?"

"Her stepdaughter. Lady Tremaine became a noble after marrying-" she paused, trying to remember the name- "Duke Woods. Anyways, Duke Woods had arranged a marriage for his daughter, Ella, with a Minstrellan noble. Duke Woods died. There were a lot of rumors that she poisoned him.

"Anyways, a letter comes talking about the marriage and Lady Tremaine writes back. The wedding is planned. Nearly all Fiorian nobles invited- including my father and me- her oldest, the black-haired one, is walking down the aisle and the noble- I can't remember his name- says, 'That's not Ella.' I know it's petty, but it was hilarious. The groom's whole family is up in arms that she would try to con them. It was amazing because Lady Tremaine is a bully and people like her rarely see justice."

"I'm guessing she stopped coming to functions after that?"

"Yeah. There was about two years after that and me running away that I didn't see her."

He chuckled. People that pretended to be wholesome, even when someone deserved the fangs, bothered him. He could hear her mentally shaming herself for revealing how much she'd enjoyed watching Lady Tremaine get her comeuppance.

"Did you know Ella well?"

Lucy shook her head. "I think I'd been there three times before Drizella let it slip that she was their stepsister. After that, they tattled to their mother anytime I talked to her. I saw a bruise once and realized that trying to talk to her probably did more harm than good."

Farron frowned. "No one did anything?"

Lucy shook her head. "It's the gentry. And Ella just wanted to leave them all behind. She left them the house but took everything in it. I think the only things left were their beds and clothes." Farron groaned suddenly. "Another mother?"

"Worse. A politician." Farron stood and held out his arm. "Think you're ready to help me deal with this?"

Lucy stood. "Let's find out."

"What do you know about him?"

The person that Farron gestured towards was a blue-haired man in his late forties-early fifties. He carried himself with every bit of gentrified arrogance and Lucy was already reminding herself to keep him from drooling into her cleavage.

"Lord Nico Mytril. Gross. Part of Fiore's trade committee. Manufactures clothes made from Boscan silkworms."

"Yes. He's trying to double dip. Our trade committee isn't having much luck with him. If he has his way, they're afraid it'll set a precedent."

"They're not wrong." She smiled. This was the smile all of his brothers warned him just to get out of her way when he saw it. "I have the perfect play."

As they walked over, another man had struck up a conversation with Lord Mytril. The man had short green hair and almost black eyes behind metal-rimmed glasses. His suit was a dull black and held nothing of the flare that she'd come to expect from his son.

"Ambassador Pradesh, Lady Heartfilia, it's a pleasure to see you. You look more and more like your mother every time I see you," Lord Mytril said.

"Thank you, Lord Mytril. Hello, Lord Justine." Lucy grabbed Farron's hand and squeezed hard enough that her nails dug into his skin.

 _Don't. This isn't the place for it and you know it._

"When should we expect a name change?" Lord Mytril asked, looking down at their clasped hands.

"I don't know. After all, my father took my mother's name."

"That's true. Your father must be thrilled. I know he tried to arrange a marriage between you and a Pradesh when you were younger."

"It's a shame my son's an abomination. Both of you in the same guild would have made quite the pair."

 _Stop!_ Lucy yelled before Farron could react.

"I'm very fond of your son. I personally have no qualms with his preferences except that we have the same tastes in men so then it becomes quite the competition."

"Do you know where my son is?"

Farron listened to her consider the best way to answer that question. The entire night, she'd been careful to allow people to assume that she was his promised without lying.

"At the moment? No."

She knew that the Thunder Legion had a job in Sevier but where exactly they were, she had no idea.

"If you don't mind me asking, how do you plan on carrying the family's legacy when you've disowned your only child? Unlike my title, or even Lord Mytril, your title has to be passed down or your lordship goes into receivership until the next the millionaire decides to buy themselves a title. The Justine's have held that for what? Two hundred years?"

She watched as Freed's father tried to come up with a good argument for that before stiffly walking away.

"That was impressive," Lord Mytril said. "Are you sure you can handle a firecracker like her?"

"Honestly, I'm beginning to question if anyone can," Farron said with a look of awe. "While I have you though, a friend on the Boscan trade committee hoped I might be able to talk to you."

"Lady Heartfilia, this will probably bore you. Why don't you go while we chat?"

"No, thank you. I need to protect him from the sharks."

His gaze shifted towards a woman hovering not too far away. "I see what you mean. I appreciate where you and your committee are coming from, but I need to make a profit."

"You're double dipping. If you weren't on your trade committee, you'd have been found guilty for violating our trade agreements."

"That is preposterous," Lord Mytril said, his face flushing. "If you don't-"

"Please allow me to interrupt," Lucy said in her ditziest voice. "All of your clothes are made from imported Boscan silk. Papa bought me one of your dresses for my sixteenth birthday." She frowned then turned her best puppy dog eyes onto Farron. "I can get another dress when we get back, right?"

"For you, yeah. My brother knows a few good places in White Sea."

The memory from that morning of Kaleb with his silk shirt on but unbuttoned flitted through her mind and she almost lost her ditzy façade. _Don't think about him shirtless_ , Lucy repeated in her mind as almost a mantra. Her face flushed slightly when she felt Farron jolt as he resisted the urge to laugh.

"Good," she said, careful to keep her higher pitched ditzy tone. "Now, it can't be produced anywhere else because Boscan silkworms feed on chamastan, a plant that requires the specific nutrients found within the water of the Grass Sea. Right?"

"That's correct," Farron acknowledged, uncertain of where Lucy was going with this.

"Now, correct me if I'm wrong, after all my knowledge of Boscan law isn't the best, but doesn't Bosco have laws concerning any businesses that imports and exports to them. That they have to maintain certain things like employee conditions."

Up until those last two words, Lord Mytril had been mostly focused on Lucy's chest as she shifted around as part of her ditzy persona. Farron swore he could hear the lord's thoughts screech as he was suddenly focused on Lucy's words. He could also hear Lucy's mental giggles as she knew exactly what she did.

"They do. It's how we maintain workers' standards in Bosco."

"Hypothetically speaking, if a Fiorian company was found to have less than stellar work conditions, shouldn't they be begging the Boscan trade committee not to pull their contracts while they rectified the problem. You know, if it was me, I'd be trying damn hard not to lose those incredibly profitable contracts."

"Sounds about right."

"Fine. I'll talk to the committees tomorrow," Lord Mytril said through clenched teeth, his face ashen.

Lucy and Farron watched him slink away. "This is fun," she said with a wide smile.

"You're terrifying. How did you know all that?"

"The work conditions or the Boscan law?"

"Both."

"Fiore has strict freedom of the press. The gentry can't stop something from being published, but they can bribe the printer to not make it widely available. Like an unfavorable article only being printed in three towns on the opposite side of the country."

"And Boscan law?"

"Textiles are part of Heartfilia Konzern as well. Papa was always careful to make sure we were within the law."

"I'm glad to know some of my lessons stuck."

Lucy turned slowly, her movements so mechanical that Farron swore he heard them creak. "Papa…"

Jude Heartfilia was a surprisingly tall man considering how petite Lucy was. He was an imposing presence with air of a business man. After a long minute of them staring at each other, he placed a hand on her shoulder.

"It's good to see you safe. I worried when you disappeared. Your friend, the celestial wizard at Sabertooth, said you'd gone on a training mission when I placed a request with the guild."

"I did. Then I ended up in Bosco."

Jude's eyes narrowed as the scrutinized Farron. "He's better than that pink haired idiot you were always with."

"Natsu is my friend and you don't get to decide who I end up with."

"You're still my daughter-"

"And therefore, you should have learned that I'm just as stubborn as you."

"The fact that you chose to go to a country whose entire civilization is built on hedonism and debauchery proves that you can't make your own decisions, so you will listen to me because-"

"You can take that patriarchal bullshit and shove it up your ass." There was a collective gasp. "I said that really loud, didn't I?"

"Yes. Let's go for a walk in the gardens," Farron said with a scathing look behind Lucy's back at her father. "Was he always like that?" he asked after she'd cooled down.

"I don't remember what he was like before Mama died. A workaholic, sure. But not mean."

Lucy and Farron sat down on a bench where Lucy took off her heels. She leaned back and stared at the sky.

"What are we looking at?"

"That's Orion who's hunting Taurus. Then on Taurus's shoulder is- Holy fuck. How did I not see that?"

"What?"

"Do you have your com?"

"Yes."

He handed it to her and she quickly dialed Kaleb.

"What?" he said groggily.

"I know what the writing is."

"Lucy? Why are you on Farron's com?"

"Because there's nowhere to carry mine in this dress."

Farron noted how quickly Kaleb got up when he realized it was Lucy calling and made a mental note to tell their father later. Kaleb was notoriously hard to wake up in the middle of the night.

"Can I see the dress?"

"Later. Is the program up?"

"Yeah. It'll take a second for me to-"

"The first letter is the Pleiades star cluster." Lucy gave him time to find a picture of the cluster then superimpose the first letter and watch it line up. She closed her eyes and pictured the night sky. Her finger moved in the air as she traced out the symbols against the various clusters. "The next one is the second Cassiopeia cluster. The third is the third Perseus cluster. I mean that-"

"I understood what you meant."

"The next is Cassiopeia's fifth cluster. And lastly, Andromeda's first."

"How do you know them so well?"

"For the longest time, the closest I could get to my magic was studying the stars. The only reason my father let me have my keys is that mages fetch more money, even in a bride price."

"The frankness that you say things like that is disturbing," Kaleb said. "It'll take an hour for me to write a program that'll figure out where Anna was pointing. I'll also have Thane get some star maps for you."

Lucy smiled for him.

"Can I see the dress?"

She giggled, handed Farron the com, stepped far enough away that he could see all of it, and turned for him.

"What do you think?"

"I like it."

"Go back to bed, Kaleb. And thank you." Farron hung up the com and stuck it back into his pocket.

"Have you noticed that the tattoo has changed?"

Lucy looked down at where she knew the dragon was and saw what he meant. The dragon had become such a part of her it that it was like the scar on her shoulder from one of Jackal's curses. She didn't really see it anymore. Whereas the mark had been a blue dragon-shaped shadow, it was now developing distinct details.

"Huh. That's new."

"I noticed it earlier."

"It's probably from the fact that I rarely turn off the dragon anymore. I'm still working on holding it while changing into my star dresses."

They sat in silence for a few more minutes before Farron asked if she was ready back inside. The party would wrap up in less than an hour.

"I hate when they do that," he said as they sat at their table eating fancy desserts.

"Do what?"

"Talk their made-up language. I get it. They don't want me to hear. Go talk in a corner and not next to me in gibberish."

"It's not made-up. It's Izezish."

"What?"

"The Izezins were a tribe here in Fiore. The last one died around twenty years ago but before he did, someone had the bright idea to turn his language into a business language of sorts since it's an entirely oral language which means you have to be taught. You can't learn it out of a book."

"And you can speak it?"

"Yeah. My father taught me."

"How many languages do you speak?"

"Fluently: Common, Izezish, and Fiorian. I speak fluent Boscan and Sevish but I struggle to read and write. I can read Minstrellan but I've been told that I have a horrible accent and I'm not real good conversationally."

"The first five I get considering your father's business, but Minstrellan."

"I like Minstellan literature," Lucy said with a bright red blush. "I suspected that the translations Papa got me weren't very accurate so I learned Minstrellan so I could read them in their native language."

He laughed. He'd read plenty of Minstrellan literature and knew how raunchy it could be. Much like Bosco, Minstrel preferred to be open and accepting of people's sexuality though it was still expected to be something kept behind closed doors.

"Lucy, I have two brothers and a sister. I don't care which of them you marry, but please be my sister-in-law and give me an excuse to bring you along to functions like this."

 **The idea for Izezish is based on the Navajo code talkers during WWII. Since the language was so different from even it general language family (ie Spanish and Italian are Latin languages) as well as unwritten, it worked really well for speaking code. Also, according to one of my professors, its similarities to Japanese drove them nuts. [The More You Know…]**

 **This has been brought up a few times so yes, Lucy has a dragon soul. It's her tattoo. Yes, she'll mate. Yes, Zen will be in the story but he's still currently in Pergrande. No, I won't acknowledge who her mate will be.**

 **Lucy in Bosco is going to be running parallel to the Avatar story arch. The two will converge on a new dragons' arch. After that, I'm not sure. I'm not sure if I'm going to try to tackle Alvarez.**


	20. Chapter 20

**Normally, I would put this longer note at the end but I'm not.**

 **As I was working on this, trying to figure out everyone's ages was driving me up the wall, so I turned to my trusty dry-erase boards. Since there's no real set time duration in** ** _Fairy Tail_** **I kinda went with a fuck it approach. In order:**

 **Farron- 28**

 **Laxus, Kaleb, Zen- 26**

 **Bickslow, Evergreen, Freed- 25**

 **Cristoff- 24**

 **Gajeel, Emzadi, Sting, Rogue, Vander (slightly younger than Emi)- 23**

 **Lucy, Levy, Yukino - 22**

 **Xally- 21**

 **Meredy- 20**

 **Wendy- 18**

 **-.-.-**

 **I don't own anything and I attributed the quote. I would like to also add my love and appreciation.**

"Lady Lucy," Princess Hisui said before they could leave. There were still others in the ballroom but Farron had said they should leave before they managed to enrage anyone else.

"Go. I'll see you back at the Embassy," Lucy said.

"Are you sure?" Farron asked, glancing between his friend and the princess.

"Yes."

Lucy followed Hisui into a sitting room off from the ballroom. The Heartfilia Mansion had a similar room where her father would finalize business transactions during parties without needing to go all the way to his office.

The room was simpler than her father's. His had been designed as a show of wealth and influence. This room was in Mercurius Castle and therefore didn't need to pretend. The portraits on the walls were of royalty in moments of leisure or landscapes. The colors were muted blues and grays.

Hisui sat first, knowing that Lucy's manners were still drilled into her despite the raucous at the party and of her guild. The servants that had been serving food all night had been reporting what conversations they heard. While many acknowledged that some had immediately held in that infuriating language of the business gentry, they'd reported any gossip. After her initial talking down of Lady Tremaine, the whispers had spread.

Lucy Heartfilia running away to become a working mage had been quite the scandal. The events of the night showed that she was still a Heartfilia though. And Hisui wasn't sure how she felt about having someone like her in Bosco.

"Wine?" Hisui asked as she poured herself a glass.

"Yes, please."

The two women leaned back in their respective chairs to watch the other. As Lucy had said, her feelings toward Hisui were complicated. It was her father where most of Lucy's ire was directed. Through Grandpa Crux, she knew that the Eclipse Gate went one way. She knew that Natsu and the other four dragon slayers were from four hundred years ago. She knew, well guessed, that her mother had to have opened the gate on this side. Hisui was a fool for not researching the Gate properly but her father was the greater fool for not destroying it when it had served its purpose.

"Princess, is there something in particular that you wished to speak about?" Lucy asked.

"Ah. Of course. Will you be attending the Games?"

"Those are in a couple of weeks, right?"

"Yes."

"No, I don't believe so. I'm in the middle of a project in Bosco."

"Hm… With Fairy Tail's disbandment, most of the major guilds didn't bother coming either. It's a good opportunity for second tier guilds to be seen but-"

"This isn't what you wanted to talk about. And I've had a long enough day as it is."

"I know that you don't think that I'm responsible enough to handle the throne, but I'm learning. I changed the relationship with the ERA so that we're all being provided with the same information. I know that they're infiltrating the dark guild, Avatar. However, I think we've become too complacent over the last few years in our reliance of Fairy Tail."

"You're probably right. I'm White Sea mage now."

"But I think that you'd be well-suited to lead a new Fairy Tail."

Nothing could have stopped the instinctive snort that came out. "Not my monkeys. Not my circus." Lucy drank the last of her wine. "The guild left. I haven't heard from most of them in nearly a year." She stood. "I'm sorry, your highness. But whatever savior you were expecting to find, I don't think it'll be coming from Fairy Tail. Luckily, there's still another half-dozen amazing guilds.

"At your leave, your highness," Lucy said, dropping into a curtsy.

"You may go first."

"Thank you. Happy birthday and good night."

.~*~.

Breakfast the following day was filled with Lucy filling Farron in on her meeting with the princess. That was followed by him asking questions about the gentry ahead of the meetings he'd have for the rest of the morning. The two would hopefully leave around two in the afternoon. Lucy made plans with Sabertooth and Levy and Gajeel.

Lucy was surprised to find Sting first when she'd arrived at the guild. While many of the members didn't know her well, they knew her familiarity with Yukino and by default, Sting and Rogue. She launched herself onto his back and clung there despite him cursing at the fact that she'd made him spill his coffee.

"Overly familiar as always," Minerva said with a sneer.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I must've forgotten to turn off my bitch shields," Lucy said with a roll of her eyes as she slid off Sting.

"That's not surprising since there's more air than substance in your head."

Lucy hissed. At first, Minerva scoffed until she saw Sting stiffen. He'd half-risen from his stool, his eyes narrowed and teeth bared.

"Whatever," she said, slinking off.

"Why do you put up with her?"

"Keep your friends close and your enemies closer. I like knowing where she is." His posture relaxed some, but he was still studying Lucy suspiciously.

"You're a queen, aren't you?" a new voice asked.

"Hi, Rogue. Not quite yet, but eventually," Lucy said, turning to look at the shadow dragon slayer that had stepped out of a shadow behind her. "You know, it's a shame you two are mated. I know someone you'd probably have fun with."

"If they don't mind an audience, I don't mind," Sting said.

"Are you a voyeur?" Lucy asked teasingly.

"Usually Rogue is, but sometimes."

 _Relationships are weird_ , Lucy mused at Rogue's nonchalance at how handsy his mate was being with her. Erik nearly poisoned a woman that got too handsy with Bickslow at the guild a week earlier. Bickslow had told Lucy about Emzadi nearly doing that when a woman propositioned Laxus and since then, Laxus had only accepted pleasure when the other slayer wasn't around. That would change since she knew Emzadi wasn't inclined to wait for Laxus any longer.

So far, she'd not had the chance to see Meredy and Cristoff together. Since he was in charge of the Pelerno branch, they'd mostly been staying there. However, she'd helped him set up the perfect retreat for the full moon and their mating. As well as lingerie shopping with Meredy and Evergreen. Meredy was positively giddy at the prospect and had spent the entire time gushing much to Lucy's amusement and Evergreen's annoyance. The fact that Meredy had also interrogated Lucy about the things that Cristoff liked during sex made her feel better about their frankly strange dynamics.

"Lucy?" Frosch said.

"Sorry," she said, picking up the Exceed and cuddling her. "I was spacing."

"What were you thinking about?" Rogue asked.

"Dragon slayers and the dynamics between them and their mates," she answered frankly. "I was thinking about how- unterritorial you two are."

"We've been mates for over five years. Plenty of time to be comfortable exploring." Sting tugged her between his legs and nuzzled her neck. "You interested in seeing us in action."

"I think that would be encroaching on Yukino's territory."

"Doubt it," Rogue said with a chuckle but watching the two blondes with interest.

"Where is she?"

"Shopping. Should be here-" he glanced past them- "now."

Lucy extracted herself from Sting and started for the door before skidding to a stop when she saw Yukino holding hands with Rufus.

"I'm Lucy Heartfilia," she said, holding out her hand to Rufus.

"I remember."

"Of course, you do." Lucy's smile widened into a familiar, predatory grin. Rufus flinched back since this was new information. "She's kin. You break her heart-"

"Lucy," Yukino interrupted. "The Twins already did this spiel."

"Well, fine," she said with a pout. "Come on. You've been holding out on me," Lucy said, dragging Yukino to a table with a pointed glare that had any of the men attempting to follow.

Lucy caught Yukino up with everything concerning their shared magic. Yukino, who'd heard the stories concerning the Ptolemaic Royals, had never thought to look for them. Lucy promised her friend, that if Yukino ever decided to visit for an extended amount of time, they'd spend it in Cellis.

"Does that mean you're not coming back?" Yukino asked.

"I don't know. I mean, I'm sure Farron will probably talk me into coming with him for any functions here but… I have people there that I can't leave."

"Your mate?"

"…Maybe. It's just- the dynamics of the dragon slayer stuff ended up being more complicated than I thought. I have a knight in Bosco. Laxus, Erik, Emi…"

"The Twins, Gajeel, Wendy, Natsu."

"There may come a time that they'll all need to be in one place. Or two. But right now… I'm not a queen yet. Not until I have a mate."

"You'll have our support," Rogue said.

"Yeah," Frosch agreed.

"I don't know why you're the queen," Lector said. "Sting's the best."

"Because only a woman can be," Sting said.

"Oh."

"You're awfully nosy," Lucy said.

"Tell me about it," Yukino said. "Sting took one sniff then goes tearing after Rufus."

"You were ours first," Sting said defensively.

"But I was never going to be a part of _that_."

"You could be our broodmother. I still want you to be our broodmother," Sting said.

"That's still not love and marriage."

"There's always been love," Rogue said, knowing his mate was the most articulate. "You just hadn't joined yet when we were mated."

The three of them continued bickering back and forth. Lucy listened in, realizing that this was an old argument. Her senses as queen, and a woman, told her that it was too late for Yukino. She was too invested in them. More than a little in love with both of them.

Lucy glanced at her shoulder. In the light, she could better see the changes to her dragon. The scales were becoming more distinctive, the blue slowly becoming more faceted. Its head turned at her scrutiny and she swore it was amused with their fighting.

"I should get going. I'm meeting Levy and Gajeel for lunch. And I've still got to stop by Sorcerer's Weekly."

"Okay," Yukino said.

Lucy hugged her friends goodbye. Before leaving, she caught Rufus's eye, pantomimed slicing her throat, then gave him her usual cheeky grin.

"You must think you're a badass now," Minerva said as soon as Lucy left.

"Waiting long? You look hot."

There was something instinctively predatory about Minerva. It reminded her of Hestor at her own guild. She'd only had the misfortune of running into him at White Sea once.

 _"_ _It's good to be back," Bickslow said as sat at one of the booths._

 _"_ _Yup," Lucy agreed, dropping down next to him. "Move over."_

 _"_ _Why can't I sit next to my mate?" Erik asked._

 _"'_ _Cause I wanted this side and he sat here."_

 _Lucy squeaked when Erik physically lifted her and dropped her on the other side so that he could sit next to his mate._

 _"_ _Really?"_

 _"_ _Yup."_

 _Lucy settled for kicking him before returning to her tablet. She knew that Kaleb would have reached out if his program had found a match, but that didn't stop her from checking at least once an hour._

 _"_ _Hi. Lucy, right?"_

 _"_ _Yeah," she replied before glancing up and seeing who had spoken._

 _Hestor was leaning against the end of the booth. Neither Bickslow or Erik had reacted since neither had a need to be annoying big brothers, unlike Laxus. They knew she'd turn him down. Since joining the guild, she'd only shared pleasure with bath attendants._

 _"_ _I was wondering if you'd like to share pleasure."_

 _The way Lucy recoiled from the question alerted Bickslow while the instinctive need to protect kin had Erik standing and Laxus nearly teleporting from the bar._

 _"_ _No, thank you," she said stiffly._

 _"_ _Are you-"_

 _"_ _I'm pretty sure she said no," Laxus said, his hand dropping onto Hestor's shoulder, light sparks hitting him._

 _"_ _Right," Hestor said, his eyes glancing over her one last time._

 _"_ _Are you okay?" Laxus asked._

 _"_ _Yeah. He just- Something about him makes me scared. I'm pretty sure I can take him in a fight but it's just- Ugh. I'm a dragon slayer. I shouldn't be feeling this."_

 _Uncertain of what to say, Laxus sat down and pulled her into a hug._

Everyone gets scared. It's a reminder that we're not invincible, _Kaleb said._

Bix loop you in?

Yes.

 _"_ _Laxus, what frightens you?" Lucy asked._

 _"_ _More often than anything else, you. Especially the thought of you deciding to take over the world."_

 _"_ _Mm…sexy men in loin cloths." Bickslow laughed while Laxus and Erik both blanched._

Lucy ignored Minerva and kept walking. The attack hadn't been unexpected. Lucy jumped; she still couldn't go more than a foot, but it was enough to avoid the attack. Then she used a quick burst of the meteor attack to shove Minerva into the wall, her forearm pressed into her neck.

"I'm not the same girl that you fought last year so don't press your luck."

Lucy half expected Minerva to try again but she didn't.

Levy was waiting in their favorite corner booth in the back of their favorite café. It was off the main streets, so it often wasn't as busy. The owner was a good cook and amicable but didn't gush or initiate conversation.

"I have something for you," Lucy said, pulling out a thick stack of papers from her messenger bag.

"Is that a new book?"

"Yep. _Tales of the Stars_."

"I can't wait!" Levy gushed but reluctantly set it aside.

"Where's Gajeel?"

"He was held up."

Lucy sighed. "It's a Zeref cult, isn't it?"

"Yeah. Are you all right?"

"No, but I will be. I'm just so sick of these maniacs obsessed with a mad man who doesn't give a shit about them."

"You're going to get her back," Levy said, gripping Lucy's hands. "How's the hunt for the keys going?"

Lucy filled her in on the progress and the events of the ball. Levy told her about work, her concerns over Gajeel's involvement fighting Avatar, and plans for a wedding. The wedding plans were still largely conceptual since they wouldn't happen until after Avatar was settled and hopefully they could get ahold of everyone in the guild.

"Just because our paths have strayed-"

"Never forget those that have loved you," Lucy finished.

"It wouldn't feel right getting married without everyone there. Gajeel's the same. We're mated so beyond that, he doesn't care. I was reading something recently… Queens should know all the mates of their dragons. Including yours."

"Hm… Is that so?"

Levy gasped, stood, and leaned over the table to smack Lucy's arm. "You're a thing of evil not telling me sooner. Who is he? Or she?"

"I'm not saying."

"Why not?"

"Because he should be the first to know."

Levy's eyes narrowed and her lips pursed. "I hate that logic."

"But you know I'm right."

"Can I be the second to know?"

"I'm pretty sure every dragon slayer in the vicinity will know."

Levy made a grumbling noise in the back of her throat and settled into her booth to sulk. "I'll tell you when I can."

"You'd better."

The conversation shifted, as it always did, to books. Lucy had been on a romance kick. She'd recently returned to some Minstrellan novels and laughed at Levy's blushing face when Lucy reminded her of a conversation that Gajeel had eavesdropped on concerning a particularly graphic sex scene in one. Gajeel had scooped Levy up and said, let's go play out that scene. Cana had teased Levy about it afterwards before asking where she could get a translated copy.

Levy was still working her way through the Boscan books. Even without her wind-reader glasses, which she never used for leisure reading, Lucy was in awe of how many books Levy had managed to buy and take home.

"Have you thought about what you're going to do about Natsu?" Levy asked as she walked with Lucy to the Sorcerer Weekly office in Crocus.

"Not really. Just, if he shows up, tell me, but don't tell him where I am."

"He'll tear Fiore apart looking for you."

"I know. Send him on wild goose chases."

"Gajeel will love that. He loves messing with him."

"And he gets to help out kin." Lucy sighed. "I'll have to deal with him eventually. Igneel was a king so I'll have to fight him for control of this forming tatsu. It's his right."

"No one wants Natsu in charge."

"Yeah, I know. Hell, I don't even know if he realizes the position we're all in."

"If you take your mate before he gets back…"

"I don't know," Lucy said, understanding what Levy was trying to say. "This is my stop," she said when they arrived at the office. Lucy hugged Levy. "I'll talk to you soon."

The office was exactly how Lucy remembered it. The desks were mostly empty, but the board of articles was full. There was another board with a list of all the guilds in Fiore written. Many had checkmarks by the name. Seeing 'Fairy Tail' crossed out made her flinch. It took her a moment to realize that everyone was interviewing the guilds to prepare for the Games.

"Lucy! This is so cool!" Jason said as he saw her.

"All alone?"

"Someone has to keep this place running. I am, unfortunately, the senior editor." He shrugged then walked over to a cabinet and pulled out a box. "Here."

"What's this?" she asked, opening it. "Fan mail?"

"We tossed most of the fan mail and sent back a generic thank you letter. These, though. These we knew you'd want."

She flipped through letters looking at the senders. Mira, Cana, Juvia, Gray, Wendy, Romeo, a bunch from Erza. There were even some from people like Warren and Nab that it hadn't occurred to her they'd worry.

"A few have called. Erza tore in here about a month after you left demanding information. My guess, they were using your modeling and articles to keep an eye on you. It's so cool."

"Jason, can I write one last article?"

"Make it a letter from the editor."

 _Here we are old friends. The last article. This time, I know it's my last article._

 _I have been on the most amazing journey. One day, one day, we'll see each other, and I'll tell you all about it. I've met amazing people and been struck dumb by sights that I never imagined. I've made new friends so don't you worry about me._

 _To Blue Pegasus, Lamia Scale, Sabertooth, and all the others that chose not to participate in the Grand Magic Games: What are you doing? It is your responsibility to remind people that Fiore is protected. Show up at the Games this year and cheer. Then, next year, fight._

 _"_ _Don't cry because it's over. Smile because it happened." Suess_

 _Sincerely (for one last time),_

 _Lucy of Fairy Tail._

"Thank you," Lucy said.

"Until next time, stay cool, Lucy."

.~*~.

It wasn't until after dinner that the airship Lucy was on landed in White Sea. As he'd said he would, Kaleb had already created a program that was figuring out where Anna was pointing. She stopped in her office to find the star charts that Thane had procured for her and dropped them off in her apartment before heading up to the guildmaster mansion.

"Hi, Thane. Thank you for getting me those star charts," Lucy said when Kaleb's assistant stopped her before she could get to the elevator that went to his floor.

"No problem, Miss Lucy. However, Master Kaleb has asked not to be disturbed."

"Even by me? Why?" Lucy asked. That never happened. Occasionally, if he had an important call, he'd tell Lucy that she can't come in, but that was always his office. He'd never denied her access to his suite.

"I think especially you."

"Why?"

She studied Thane. He wasn't sharing pleasure. One, Thane would just tell her that. And two, Lucy was fairly certain only long-term lovers were entertained in the suite. Business was strictly handled in the office or the guildhall itself.

"What would you do if I just ignored you and walked past?" she asked politely after some consideration.

"You are undoubtedly combatively stronger, so it wouldn't be prudent of me to initiate a confrontation with you right now." There was a hint of approval in his tone that confirmed an earlier consideration: he wanted her to go.

While on the elevator, she studied the cleaned up versions of the star clusters with only the ones indicated by Anna's writing.

"Why di-"

Kaleb was lying on the bed naked. Bruises dotted his skin. Multiple bandages were staining red as the open wounds underneath them oozed blood. Shallow lacerations on his chest were left unbandaged and Lucy recognized them as whip cuts. From where she stood, his heart sounded dangerously slow and his breathing was shallow.

Vaguely, she heard the tablet slip from her fingers and crash to the floor. She jerked from her shock and ran to the bed.

"Kaleb!"


	21. Chapter 21

**Y'all lucky I love you and felt guilty for that cliffhanger.**

Lucy stopped short before reaching Kaleb, her hand hovering over his face. Instead she closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and pulled out a silver key.

"Open, gate of the unicorn! Monoceros!"

"Hello, Mi- What happened to him?" Monoceros asked, looking at the man on the bed.

"I don't know. I don't care. Can you heal him?"

"No. My healing is only meant for my contractor."

"Please, Ceros. You're my only healer. It's the full moon so I know I can't call Cris. So, please," Lucy said, her eyes brimming with tears.

Monoceros sighed. "I can't heal everything. There's three- no, four broken ribs. One wrong move could puncture his spleen or lungs. A fracture in his femur. A concussion. I can heal the lacerations, the sprains in his wrists, and maybe the poison overdose. His right shoulder is dislocated but the pain from fixing that will probably cause him to move too much."

"Wait. Back up. Poison?"

"Yes. The fact that the Immaculate Light didn't force it out of his system tells you how much they used. The fact that it didn't kill him is very nearly a miracle. I would guess a paralytic mixed with an aphrodisiac given the erection." Where Virgo spoke with a monotoned voice but could joke, Monoceros always sounded like she was a textbook aloud.

Lucy looked down at the dragon on her shoulder. It was glaring with its teeth bared. She sent it away so that she could reach out to touch his face.

"Heal the poison. His heart is too slow and with the broken ribs, I can't risk chest compressions. After that, heal the worst of the contusions and take the bandages with you." Monoceros was nodding along until the last order. Before she could ask, Lucy said, "Time moves slower in your realm than here. I wanna know who did this and with what. Hopefully, it won't deteriorate in the time it takes me to call Erik."

"Understood."

Lucy sat on the bed, holding Kaleb's hand, and watching the pain cross his face.

"How is he?" Thane asked from the doorway.

"Bad. Who did this?"

"I think it's best if you talk to his siblings. Not Mr. Arman or Mr. Farron though."

"Cris and Emi are both mating. I could call-"

"It's dialed for Vander," Thane said, handing Lucy the comm.

"Kaleb? Why are you-"

"Van," Lucy said, choking on his name.

"Shit. She was there, wasn't she? I'll be there in a sec."

"Thank you, Thane. Go home. I don't think there's anything else for you to do here," Lucy said once she handed back the comm.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes."

"All right, Miss Lucy." There was a faint pop of Thane teleporting out.

Monoceros emitted a soft glow when she healed. It would almost make him look ethereal if he wasn't still covered in injuries.

"Miss Lucy, I took care of most of the poison. I left some to keep him unconscious. I can sense that he's in a bad headspace, so I would recommend that it be the lunar slayer that he potentially wakes up to."

"Thank you, Ceros." She summoned Gemini. "I need you to turn into Cris."

"We cannot," Gemi said.

"He's too strong," Mini added.

"I know it's dangerous, but I know that you can turn into him. Please. I need his healing."

Gemi and Mini looked between the man and Lucy's desperate face.

"This is probably the only time that it's relatively for me to turn into the slayer," Gemini said out of Cristoff's mouth.

"Shit! Cris? I thought-"

"It's not," Lucy said, stumbling into Vander when she tried to climb out of the bed. "It's Gemini. You know who did this, don't you?" she asked once they were in the living room

"Yes."

"They've done this before, haven't they?"

"Yes," Vander said through clenched teeth.

"Who. Are. They?" Lucy said slowly. The world was starting to spin. In the bedroom, Lucy heard the distinctive chime of Gemini disappearing. "Huh. There's two of you now. I'd rather have two of Kaleb."

"Let's get you back to the bed," Vander said. "Your magic is really low."

She let him guide her back to the bed and scrambled clumsily to lay by Kaleb. Clutching Gemini's key, she heard them tell her that they'd half-treated most of his injuries so that they were no longer life threatening. It wasn't great news, but she was grateful that they'd thought like that.

"Lucy, sleep," Vander said after she'd told him that.

"And call Erik," she mumbled.

.~*~.

Kaleb awoke with the sun as he always did. After the day before, he was happy that he was waking at all. In fact, at one point, he was fairly certain that they'd had to resuscitate him. It had been the first time that he'd sincerely worried that Kurino would kill him. His family would probably be protected from her if that happened, but it wasn't ideal.

As he laid there, it occurred to him that he felt surprisingly good. He ached everywhere but he didn't have the uncomfortable feeling of bandages and dried blood nor the stinging pain of the whip injuries. Both wrists had been sprained when he'd fought the magic cancelling cuffs. Between bouts of the paralytic, he'd dislocated his shoulder. Out-right beating him wasn't usually her style, but she'd been enraged so he was certain there'd been multiple broken bones.

A soft whimpering sound had him finally opening his eyes. Asleep next to him was Lucy. At some point in the night, she'd started cuddling a pillow to her chest. He reached out, groaning as he did, and cupped her cheeks. She nuzzled into his hand and he could feel the gritty salt of tear tracks.

"You shouldn't be moving," she admonished as she opened her eyes.

"It was a bit touch and go there for a while."

"Don't scare me like that again."

"I can't promise that."

"You will because I'm gonna-"

He pressed his thumb to her lips. "Don't make a promise you can't fulfill."

"Who said anything about not fulfilling?" she asked darkly. "I don't think Gemini is willing to take Cristoff's form again so I think you're stuck in bed for another night. They were only able to heal a bit. I can see if Ceros has better luck though."

"No. I can feel that your magic is weaker than usual. Save your strength."

"You too. Sleep. I'll wake you when breakfast gets here."

She watched as he settled back to sleep. Once his breath evened out, she looked down at her arm and summoned her dragon back. Its head swiveled back and forth between look at her and looking at Kaleb.

"Yeah, I know," she murmured.

Vander was starting to stir when Lucy walked into the living room.

"You crashed on the couch?"

"I wanted to be close enough in case something happened. I don't have dragon hearing."

She nodded and pulled her comm out of her messenger bag. The first message she sent was to the kitchens requesting breakfast and the second was to Thane that Kaleb had woken up but not to let the kitchen staff deliver to the residence. The last thing anyone wanted was for rumors to spread within the guild.

"All right. Tell me everything. You knew what happened as soon as I called. You said you knew who did it."

"What are you going to do?"

"I'm still trying to figure out a slow or quick death."

Vander chuckled darkly. "You and I both know that you don't have that in you."

Lucy walked and leaned over to look him in the eye. "I don't think either of us know what I'm capable of. We're about to find out."

"You can't go after her."

"And why not?"

"Because it's Kurino."

Lucy straightened and blinked owlishly at him. "Kurino? As Crowned Princess Kurino of Bosco?"

"Yes. She is obsessed with Farron and has been assaulting Kaleb and Cristoff for years hoping that they'll give in and tell Farron. Fare will marry her if it means protecting the family."

"Arman doesn't know either, does he?"

"No. Neither do either of my sisters."

Lucy settled into a chair. It didn't surprise her that the sisters didn't know. They'd want to protect Xally. Especially with her still finishing up her internship at the hospital. And Emzadi would probably do exactly what Lucy wanted to do: raze the castle to the ground.

Vander let Lucy sit with her eyes closed as she reigned in her anger. When Thane came up with the food, she helped him empty the cart while he poked his head into Kaleb's room.

"Is there anything else?"

"Every book on Boscan law that Kaleb has."

"You're going to fight her?" Thane asked.

"Van seems to be under the impression that I can't just burn the castle to the ground so yeah."

"If you want to do that, I have no problem supporting it, but that doesn't stop you from becoming public enemy one."

"Hmph."

Thane gave her a thin-lipped smile. "I'll get the books."

"Thank you," she said with a large smile. "Go wake your brother up. I need to call Bix and Erik." She called Bickslow, knowing that he was usually easier to wake. "Hey. I need you at the guildmaster suite."

"Why?" he asked groggily.

"Kurino." Lucy swore she could hear the gears shifting as Bickslow understood the situation.

"I'll be there soon."

"Bring Erik."

"Okay." She disconnected the line as she heard her friend waking his mate.

Vander was supporting Kaleb to the table. She stood away from him and the temptation. Sleeping next to him had her heart aching and an irate dragon that was glaring up at her from her arm. Part of what took so long seemed to have been Vander helping him pull a pair of pajama pants on.

"Who all knows?" Kaleb asked.

"Thane, myself, Van, Bix, and Erik. My spirits Gemini and Ceros helped heal you."

"I didn't want you to see me like this."

"Yes, and when you're all healed up I'm gonna-" She stopped, unable to finish that sentiment.

 _Don't change now. I like your temper._

 _You almost died. You could have if Thane hadn't let me up here, you asinine, self-righteous, arrogant, pigheaded, bullheaded-_

 _You ran out, didn't you?_

She glared at him from across the table. Especially at how amused he looked.

"You two all right?" Vander asked, already guessing that Lucy was mentally yelling at his older brother. It was probably only his injuries that was stopping her from throwing something at him.

"Yes," Lucy said, ignoring both men in favor of her food.

Thane returned with Kaleb's tablet as well as the books Lucy requested just before Bickslow and Erik arrived.

"What do you think you'll find that we haven't?" Kaleb asked.

"I think differently. Also, I was raised around bureaucracy and there might be something that I'll see that you missed. Since neither Arman or Farron know anything, you need me."

She grabbed the first book, slipped on her wind-reader glasses, and ignored the two men as she multitasked between reading and eating. That was the sight that Bickslow and Erik walked into. Kaleb was working on his tablet, Lucy reading, and Vander seemed amused by both of them.

It had taken Bickslow a while to learn to see the dragon in her soul. It was generally a dark blue in the gold of her aura. Currently, he could see her concern as well as her annoyance. The dragon seemed to reach out towards Kaleb, but the gold seemed to shield it.

"Erik, hey," Lucy greeted.

"Hello to you too," Bickslow said, helping himself to some bacon. "Are you okay?"

"I'll live. Cris should be back tomorrow and can heal the rest of me," Kaleb said, cringing as he moved with his less dominant left hand.

Lucy opened Monoceros's gate. She reappeared with one of the bandages in a petri dish. "I've been doing some experiments of my own. I would like to see if my findings are congruent with yours."

"Erik, can you tell what poison is in this?"

"You kept my bandages?"

"It seemed like a better idea than getting some needles from Ophiuchus."

"I smell something with sharp, almost metallic tang. I'm not sure what that is. Overpowering everything else is Succubus Venom." Erik turned to Bickslow. "We should get some. In the right dosages, we could be going all night."

"It's illegal here as a rape drug," Vander said. "I mean, if you got some for yourselves, given your magic, I doubt anyone would bat an eye."

"But it's a crime for Kurino to use it on Kaleb. Also, isn't rape punishable by death in Bosco."

"Yes, but she's the princess. Heir to the throne," Kaleb said.

"She's supposed to set an example for her people. Not break one of the fundamental laws of your society."

"And you should know better than any of us that the gentry are held to different standards."

"That's not-"

"Do actually have a plan or are you-" Erik interjected then stopped when he heard the half-dozen barely plotted ideas in Lucy's head. "I personally like the star blast one myself."

"Me too. They don't approve."

"That would be classified as assassination," Kaleb said.

"Tomato, to-mah-to."

The two went silent and Erik started laughing. Bickslow quickly realized that their arguing had gone telepathic. The three men stepped outside while Kaleb and Lucy returned to what they were doing and pretending they weren't arguing on the merits of blowing the princess up.

"You know, I like them together," Vander said. "I've never seen anyone put him in his place like she does."

"I know, right? I haven't seen anyone do that since we were kids," Bickslow said laughing. "You staying?"

"Yeah. She'll need help getting him around. Besides, they're the best entertainment I'm going to get."

.~*~.

Vander found himself nearly disappointed when he opened the door for Cristoff the following evening. Watching his brother and Lucy argue was the most entertaining thing he'd seen with clothes on.

"Where's your mate?" Vander asked.

Cristoff was relaxed in a way that Vander had never seen him. "Pelerno. Resting. I told her that this wasn't my secret to tell."

He walked into his brother's room and stopped at the strange sight. Kaleb was wearing sleep pants and working on his tablet. His expression was entirely disgruntled. Standing next to him was a large minotaur that Cristoff guessed was one of Lucy's spirits. Lucy was sitting on the far side of the bed with a pile of books and notes, her wind-reader glasses perched on the tip of her nose.

"Cris!" Lucy said, carefully getting out of the bed so as not to jostle Kaleb and running to hug him. "Where's Meredy?"

"She stayed in Pelerno. I wasn't sure she was ready to deal with all of this yet. Besides, it should be Kaleb's decision if she knows."

 _I didn't want Lucy to know. You see how well that turned out,_ Kaleb told Cristoff.

Knowing that he was talking about her, she kicked the mattress hard enough to make him flinch.

"It's a stupid idea not to tell me. Almost as stupid as trying to exercise with around six fractured bones."

"I thought it would loosen me up."

"You have three fucked up joints."

Cristoff leaned over to Vander. "How long have they been like this?"

"Two days," Vander said chuckling. "He tried to do his morning stretches only to nearly rebreak his femur. The fall made mess up his hip and elbow."

"Do you two realize that you bicker like an old married couple?" Cristoff asked.

As Kaleb shifted to give Cristoff space, he heard the joints moving badly in their sockets and Kaleb's labored breathing that he was trying to keep from Lucy. Back near her, he could feel her concern. It was so palpable that he'd felt it as soon as Meredy and he teleported to his suite in Pelerno. 

"You can go, Taurus. Thank you."

"Yes, Miss Luuuuucy."

 _If you're trying not to worry her, you're doing a piss poor job of it._

 _I know. The arguing grounds her though._

 _It's also a turn on for you, isn't it?_

 _A little bit._

"So, what's this about a rumor that Kurino has been trafficking in illegal substances like Succubus Venom? Dad asked me about it." A by-product of Cristoff's healing was a soothing mist that filled the room. Vander and Lucy both took deep breaths of the cool mint.

Lucy settled back in her spot with the books and gave the men a wicked little smile. "I'm impressed it got so far already."

"I'm still not a fan."

"Yes, I'm aware," she said with a roll of her eyes before turning to Cristoff. "Did you know that Bosco has very interesting libel laws?"

"Can't say that I've had a reason to know that."

"Well, you do. Courtesy of the presence of the Immaculate Light- which makes it damned near impossible for a knight to lie- and the Acadame Celestine- which trains celestial wizards who are bound by their promises, Bosco put in place libel laws that allow for the defendant to request trial by combat. If the libel is that, their magic will fail them proving their falsehood."

"So you started a rumor that you knew was true but would force her to respond so that you could initiate a trial by combat?"

"Yes. Then, once I force her to yield, I can force her to tell the truth about…everything. That she abused the law that allowed her to request pleasure from any unattached person. That she threatened to claim an unwilling consort."

"She can do that within the law though," Vander said, now listening.

"Yes and no. She can compel any single person to share pleasure, but that was only intended to be once. Only someone of high-ranking and whose offspring would be beneficial to the royal family tree can be compelled to be a consort. She should never have touched Cris since he can't give her children. That's only Kaleb and Farron. The law was designed to ensure that the family tree had lots of branches and to protect the king and queen's rights to consorts. But here's the best bit." She found where she'd written the quote. "'As the duties of the royal family are always to put the people first, those whose -I'm probably going to butcher this- extraction from their roles would be detrimental to the country are immune to the proclivities of the royal family.' Article three, section eight."

"I always took that to mean that the king couldn't remove me as guildmaster if I didn't do something that he wanted me to do because I thought it was a bad idea."

"It means that too. As far as the trial by combat, it had to be me. As princess, she could refuse trial by combat which she'd undoubtedly do if it was either of you. But she'll never see me coming."

"Five years and she figures this out in two days," Cristoff said, staring at her in awe.

"One, told you I think differently. And two, ninety percent of business is learning to figure out what loopholes I can exploit. I've been figuring out shit like this half my life."

"Starfire, if you ever decide to take over the world-"

"Yeah. I know." She stretched her arms over her head. With her eyes closed, she missed Kaleb's heated stare as he watched. "The part that sucks now is waiting. I made it pretty obvious that it came from me."

"I doubt you'll have to wait long. I think Dad was trying to prove that it couldn't be from you." Cristoff's mist dissipated. Before his brother could reach for the blonde, Cristoff shook his head. He could still feel her emotions all over the place and knew she wouldn't accept the gesture just yet.

 _I like this plan better_ , Kaleb told her.

She opened her eyes and met his gaze. _She's still going to bleed._

 **Since most of you have guessed this: Yes, Lucy knows Kaleb's her mate. She's known since he tried to investigate the storefront that represented her slayer magic in her mind palace.**

 **This is a preferential writer thing of mine: I like poignant, transitional moments. Like the letter representing her goodbye from Fairy Tail and accepting the future in White Sea and claiming her mate. However, I'm also an asshole. Let that be a warning.**


	22. Chapter 22

**I own nothing except the plot.**

 **You guys are amazing. Seeing the reviews are my favorite distraction at work. That and my email blowing up with new favorites and follows.**

It was two days later that Kurino would force Arman's hand.

Everyone was at the Pradesh manor celebrating the two mated couples. The women left the men in one of the sitting rooms on the first floor while Xally and Emzadi led the women to a separate room.

"This is the Women's Room," Emzadi said, flinging the door open with a flourish. The design was eclectic with bits and bobs from all over Ishgar. The rug in the center looked Encan with its geometric pattern. The furniture was a cross between modern Boscan and Minstrellan with its plush cushions on wooden bases. The shelves held everything from well-read books to well-loved toys. It was obvious that the room had aged with them.

"We were outnumbered so Dad thought it would be a good idea for us to have a place strictly our own," Xally said. "You're family so feel welcome to our space." She plopped down into a chair that was merely a giant pillow.

"I'm not marrying one of your brothers," Evergreen said, hesitating before entering.

"Yeah, but you've put up with Bixy for nearly a decade. If anyone deserves an honorary spot, you do," Emzadi replied, pulling her into the room. "Now, let's see it."

"Huh?" Meredy asked.

"Your mate mark, of course," Lucy said with a giggle, sitting cross legged on one of the couches.

"Oh."

If it had been on fire, Meredy's mark would have reminded Lucy of a phoenix. The wings were open wide across her shoulder blades. Its head looked like it was resting on her shoulder making the dragon appear as if embracing her. The tail trailed down her spine before dipping into her shorts.

"We need to get you some clothes that show that off," Emzadi said.

"Agreed," Evergreen said as Meredy pulled her dress back up.

"Oo, I have that Altan dress that Cristoff got me during one of those times he joined Farron on a diplomatic assignment," Xally said.

"Maybe not get him a dress that he picked out for his sister?" Lucy commented blandly.

"Hm…that's valid." Meredy settled down next to Lucy.

"Not necessarily. He is Boscan and has no problem with Xally seducing anyone her heart desires. Except that asshole that you were crushing on in Capressa," Emzadi said. "It's not like we don't have time," she ultimately added with a shrug.

Emzadi's mark was easily seen. Its head was on her shoulder, the body wrapped around the back of her neck with its tail following the curve of her breast into her cleavage. Like hers, Laxus's was easily visible on his bicep with the tail wrapping possessively around his wrist.

"That thing that he does with his tongue? Yeah, it's amazing," Meredy said. "I have this bad tendency of creating a sensory link during sex. The feedback loop was amazing. Especially during sex itself."

"I told you," Lucy said. "That tongue should be treasured."

"I'm sure-"

"When are we gonna talk about you and Beck?" Lucy asked, diverting the attention that she could already sense Emzadi directing towards her.

"How long have you known?" Evergreen sputtered.

"Two weeks," Lucy said at the same time that Emzadi said, "A few months."

"That long?"

"Beck and I are friends," Emzadi said. "Sometimes friends with benefits. Besides, he's been friends with Kaleb since Kaleb joined White Sea. He's still considered Kaleb's partner even though he's the guildmaster now. He wanted to make sure he wasn't stepping on any toes when you started flirting with him."

"Interesting to know that you definitely have a type," Lucy commented. "Though, Beck is definitely more elfish with that long, green hair."

"It's a bit like Freed. Did you have a thing for Freed?" Xally asked.

"No! Ew. He's like a brother. A very flamboyantly gay brother. I just like big, muscular men, that's all."

"Who happen to be beast masters…"

Evergreen threw a pillow at Lucy, but she didn't quite have Lucy's aim. It ended up hitting Meredy. Before a pillow fight could start, there was a knock at the door.

"Lucy?" Farron said quietly when he opened the door.

"What's wrong?" Emzadi asked.

"The rumor that Kurino is using Succubus Venom- They think Lucy started it. Kurino is charging Lucy with libel."

Lucy glanced away from Farron and met Meredy's red eyes. She was the only female that knew about the plan. Bickslow and Erik both agreed not to say anything to the rest of the Thunder Legion. Freed would undoubtedly freak out and tell Farron. Evergreen would tell Laxus. And Laxus would go overprotective big brother. There were enough men doing that. That's why Lucy insisted on Meredy knowing so that there was some estrogen was in the room.

"About time," Meredy said as she and Lucy stood.

"I know." _Kaleb?_

 _I'm with Dad._

 _Keep him from doing something reckless. I don't want him to get in trouble after this._

Lucy entered the foyer and pressed her hand to Arman's back. "Don't worry."

Arman frowned. "I don't think that you appreciate how bad the situation is." He studied her calm demeanor. "You did this, didn't you? Why?"

"Because I needed to." _Tell them on the way,_ she told Kaleb just before the guards from the palace put magic canceling cuffs on her and led her away.

.~*~.

Kurino was pacing in the large room. Her father, Altiene, was watching her over the papers he was reading while they waited. They were in one of the smaller courtrooms of the castle instead of the grand hall. It was a relatively mild libel case that he'd probably penalize with a fine. What concerned him was that it had taken his daughter two days to file charges. He'd seen Kurino penalize servants for bringing her the wrong food with a day in the dungeon. The woman, Lucy Heartfilia, was Fiorian gentry so he wouldn't put her in jail since dealing with King Toma wasn't worth it.

"Are you all right?"

"Yes, Father. Just bored," she lied.

When she'd first heard the rumor, she'd been shocked. The only people that she used the venom on were Kaleb and Cristoff, but she'd always felt secure in the knowledge that they'd never go against her. They had too much to lose. Then, it was traced back to Lucy.

For the first time, she felt dread. She'd lashed out at Kaleb for Lucy being Farron's date at Hisui's birthday ball. There'd been a moment that Kaleb's heart had stopped, and they'd had to get it going again. She should have stopped. She knew that, but she'd been so angry. Her father had told her that Farron was Promised. He told her to let Farron go.

Her spies within White Sea had informed her of how close Lucy was to all of the Pradesh men. Arman defending her had proven that. Half the guild thought Kaleb and Lucy hated each other while the other half thought they were well on their way to being Promised. She didn't know if Lucy was Farron's Promised, but Kurino was certain that Kaleb was important to her and she wanted to take that from her.

Lucy's rumor reached the castle before she'd had the opportunity to start her own. Her maid was going to 'gossip' to another that Kurino might be pregnant and that it had to be Kaleb's child. She wasn't, of course. The only child that she wanted to carry was Farron's. However, it would have forced Kaleb to accept being her consort. She'd even considered padding her clothing until her public miscarriage.

"Lucy Heartfilia: charged with libel against Princess Kurino of Bosco," a guard said as they led Lucy into the room.

Kurino's eyes narrowed as she scrutinized Lucy. She could see the appeal since her fair coloring was uncommon in Bosco. It turned heads. However, the bored expression annoyed her. Even as she saw the hatred belied by her eyes.

The Pradesh family filed in and took seats on the benches along the perimeter of the room.

"Lucy Heartfilia, did you start a rumor that my daughter, Princess Kurino, was in possession of Succubus Venom and used it on unwilling subjects?" Altiene asked.

"Yes."

Altiene set down his papers and looked at Lucy. He was surprised by her candid answer. As well as the fact that Arman and his entire family was present. He'd forgiven the man for sending away his son when they'd outlawed seith magic instead of turning him over. However, supporting a relative stranger despite his position was a foolhardy move.

"You acknowledge that libel is a crime?"

"It is neither libel or a crime to spread a truthful rumor. By my honor as a celestial mage, she has used Succubus Venom to rape. I request trial by combat to defend my assertion."

Altiene turned to Kurino. "You are the wronged party. It is your duty to defend yourself. Do you wish to concede or fight?"

"Fight. I haven't committed this crime."

"Guards, two swords please."

When they brought the two swords to Lucy and Kurino, they unlocked the magic cancelling bracelets as well. Kaleb let her into the joint link for a moment.

 _Blondie, we're gonna talk about stupid ideas later,_ Laxus told her.

 _Yeah, yeah._

 _Tink, kick her ass._

 _Is there any doubt?_

The thoughts silenced as he pulled her out of the conversation. _Be careful, Lucy._ There was so much concern in his voice that she almost turned to look at him.

"This forcefield will allow magic and physical items in but not out," Altiene said. "May the Immaculate Light guide you."

Lucy wasn't a fan of swords. Capricorn insisted on training with them occasionally. Especially considering Cancer's stardress.

Then there'd been the one, ill-advised training session with Erza. It had been after Phantom Lord's attack and Levy talked her into it. Afterwards, both of them thought their limbs were going to fall off and they'd collapsed in Levy's room at Fairy Hills.

They circled one another, watching the other woman's defenses. She knew from the whip marks that Kurino was left-handed. She'd seen her own right-handed marks in trees enough times to recognize the pattern.

She lunged with the sword in her right hand. Kurino's grip was clumsy as she tried to parry the blow. Her movements were as she'd predicted. Even still, she wished that she'd listened to Capricorn more. Most of the cuts were shallow but they were infuriating to Kurino. Almost to the point that Lucy was deliberately leaving them shallow.

On the outside, Kaleb had two things going. The first was maintaining the connection between everyone. That was important because Arman was continually admonishing the dragonslayers that didn't like watching their kin, and queen, fight without them. Emzadi, in particular, agreed with Lucy's idea to burn the place down and be done with it.

The second was listening to Lucy's battle strategy. As princess, Kurino was the head of the Steel Council and the Knights. He'd seen her spar a few times, but it still surprised him that Lucy figured out her weaknesses that quickly. He hated that she was insisting on keeping her spirits out until she'd gotten her pound of flesh.

While Kurino's right hand wasn't her dominant, she managed the stop a downward blow from Lucy. She took advantage of their close proximity to kick Lucy's leg out from under her then knock the sword out of her hand.

"Yield," Kurino said with a smug smile and pointing the sword at her.

"Not likely," Lucy said.

Kurino was so busy gloating that she didn't see Lucy unwrap the rantai from her wrist. She wrapped the chain around the sword's guard, shifted out of the way, and pulled the sword from her hand.

Using a quick burst, Lucy got behind her, wrapped the rantai around her neck, and forced her to her knees. Kurino jerked, trying to get away, causing the chain to cut into her neck.

"Yield, or this chain will take your head off," Lucy said. Loke and Monoceros both appeared behind Lucy. They'd been waiting for Lucy to say 'yield'.

Seeing the two spirits, Kurino said, through clenched teeth, "I yield."

"Ceros, do you have it?" Lucy asked.

"Yes."

Altiene was already dismantling the shielding as well as calling the guards to check her apartment. Seeing a hint of smugness, Lucy told him to also have her ladies-in-waiting's quarters checked. The rage confirmed her suspicion.

"Ceros, give it to him."

Monoceros held out a small stack of papers. "This is the lab work done on the blood of one of her victims. As you can see, there's both a paralytic and the Succubus Venom. The only logical assumption can be that the person wasn't willing, so they had to artificially paralyzed and aroused. This is also the Immaculate Light in his blood. The person she raped was a knight. With the presence of the Immaculate Light, the amount of paralytic she would have needed, could have killed him. I also aided the DNA sequence of the Succubus Venom, so you can compare it to whatever she has left."

It took a few minutes for Altiene to read through the documents. "Do you swear on your honor as a celestial mage that these records are true?"

"I trust my spirit, so yes."

"I'll give them to my council when we discuss her execution," Altiene said causing Lucy to release Kurino in surprise but the guards immediately grabbed her.

"Father."

"No. I have overlooked too many of your transgressions as it is. But this-" Altiene glanced at Kaleb. While he wouldn't say it, there were few people, ever, to have such a high concentration of the Immaculate Light in their system. He couldn't protect Kaleb, but he could protect the guildmaster of White Sea.

 _It'll be your decision how you choose to handle it_ , Altiene said, knowing that Kaleb could hear the directed thought.

 _I'll make a formal statement at the hearing for her execution._

Altiene watched as the family left. This was going to be a mess.

.~.~.

Lucy scrambled up Cristoff's back and the lunar dragon slayer carried the exhausted woman. "I can't believe you doubted me," Lucy admonished Laxus.

"Actually, I think we owe Bix an apology for all the times we teased him about losing. I mean, she just kicked ass and that was by herself," Evergreen said.

"Agreed."

"I think we need to eat. And preferably somewhere with a better stocked bar than the one I have at home," Arman said.

"There's the place we went for my birthday," Xally said.

"I liked that place," Emzadi agreed. "And the bill for three dragon slayers getting wasted wasn't too bad."

"Agreed," Arman said.

Lucy glanced back at Kaleb. _Are you all right?_

 _Yes. I'm just thinking about my testimony at her execution. It'll open me up to scrutiny._

 _Maybe. But you kept it a secret to protect your family and the guild._ He heard the pause and saw her snuggle into Cristoff's shoulder. He couldn't hear what was being spoken but he could see her responding to something Meredy said. _Kaleb, you're my hero. And the hero to every person that's joined the guild. And the children that can't wait to grow up to join. This isn't going to change that. And as far as potential scrutiny, you're damned if you do and damned if you don't, so let it be tomorrow's problem._

He couldn't stop the small smile. Especially when she lifted her head to look at him. And when she saw his smile, she gave him one of her own.

 **Originally, I planned on Kaleb telling Lucy why Kurino was particularly mad, but realized that he wouldn't have to protect her. These last couple of chapters have required me to get out of his way a lot.**


	23. Chapter 23

**As always, I own nothing.**

"That was fast," Arman said as he returned to the dining room where the collective was eating breakfast. Mr. Elan had arrived that morning to find a still half hungover household. He prepared a breakfast casserole as a remedy while loudly singing as punishment for drinking that much.

"What is?" Kaleb asked, one of the only people not treating a hangover.

"Kurino's execution." That silenced the room, and everyone turned to Arman. "My guess is that Altiene didn't want to give the appearance of preferential treatment."

Rape cases were fairly open and shut. A telepath of some sort was brought in to confirm that the suspect was guilty before they were executed. The process generally took a few hours, a day at most.

The trial by combat had been early enough in the evening that Altiene could have summoned his committee to second the decision.

"When?" Farron asked.

"One. They're going to do a full immersion of the Immaculate Light. A royal has never been executed. I suspect that they were hoping that she might make it through alive."

"I don't understand," Meredy said, looking at Cristoff.

"A full immersion in the Light is the only way to achieve a stay of execution. If you're truly guilty, the Light's purification will kill you," he replied. "From what I understand, it's not a pleasant way to go."

"It's not. I saw it once. The man was a serial killer who claimed that his actions were the right ones. It took a while but-" Arman seemed to shudder. His children remembered a day that he'd come home and retired straight to his room. It had taken him a few days to return to normal and it had felt still and awkward in the house. "I'm not going to recommend that any of you go. I know that Kaleb will, but I want the rest of you to truly consider if you want to go."

"I will understand if you don't want to," Kaleb said. "I just need to see this through."

*.*.*

"Day drinking?" Lucy asked when she found him sitting in the chair in his childhood room. She settled onto his bed and held out her hand for a glass of the bourbon he was drinking.

"I can think of a few other things we can be doing that involve you in my bed," he said, not hiding his lust. His mind was open to her so that she could see his fantasies.

"We'll revisit that later," Lucy said but her pupils visibly dilated.

While she didn't try to hide her interest anymore, she was almost more skittish around him. Waking up next to her almost seemed like a fantasy that he couldn't quite recreate. That, in itself, was driving him insane.

She sipped the liquor. "Do you need me to go with you?"

"I said that it was everyone's choice."

"That wasn't what I asked you."

"Please."

Lucy nodded. "Okay."

She put the tumbler down on his bedside table, curled up in his bed, and fell back asleep. Half the house was asleep while most of the other half was only awake because the thoughts of the execution kept them as such.

*.*.*

It was ultimately only the Pradeshes and Lucy that were going. Kaleb's siblings told their mates to stay. To let them be their comfort afterwards.

It was the first time that Lucy had seen Kaleb in his full guildmaster regalia. Despite her jittery feeling, she couldn't help the fantasies that crossed her mind. Or stop the blush when Kaleb turned to her with an arched eyebrow.

Kurino's maids were executed painlessly first at the castle. They acknowledged their participation in keeping the men drugged. As well as the fact that Kurino encouraged them to enjoy the men after she was done but the Succubus Venom kept them erect.

Lucy was grateful to have missed that. The Pradeshes had gone straight to the citadel where the crystal of the Immaculate Light was held.

"Does anyone have any final words before Kurino Endivosh is immersed in the Light?" King Altiene asked.

 _Go_ , Lucy said.

Kaleb stood and walked to the podium, his eyes hard. "I acknowledge that with my magic, I could have stopped her before she could drug me. She resorted to those drugs because she knew that I did not want to have sex with her. She twisted the law in such a way that I thought that she was protected. That it was only through a friend that justice was achieved.

"I did what I had to to protect my guild and my family. And I would do it again."

He stood there, waiting to see if anyone would try to rebuke him. The council members had seen the evidence. Had heard the maids' testimonies. None doubted him. One was suspiciously silent, though. While Kaleb couldn't meet the man's gaze, he knew that it had to be the head of the Steel Council.

"You may be seated," Altiene said and Kaleb returned to his spot next to Lucy. She didn't look at him but slipped her hand into his. "Kurino, do you have any last words?"

Kurino didn't say anything but kept her gaze fixated on Farron.

"She's gonna go out pretending to be a tragic figure," Emzadi muttered.

"No." Lucy stood. Farron was sitting in the row behind her. She grabbed his lapel and pulled him down towards her. From where Kurino stood, it appeared as if Lucy was kissing Farron.

Kurino screamed and the guards flanking her were forced to grab her before she ran into the stands. "Let him go, you whore! He is, and always has been, mine. He loves me! He'll mourn me! You'll see!"

 _That was petty._

 _I know. But she deserved to go out with everyone seeing her for who she is._

Bickslow, who was sitting on Lucy's other side, held out his hand for her to hit. She did then laced her fingers with his.

A black hood was shoved over her head and she was forced into a ring of crystals with a large one above it. The ring of crystals rose. There was a flash of bright light and when it disappeared, the crystal had formed a cylinder that encased her. It took only a few minutes before her screams started.

"That was fast," Arman said thickly.

Lucy glanced away from the cylinder and looked down at Altiene. Him and his son, the new heir apparent, were resolutely looking at the cylinder but looked horrified. Kurino's younger sister had looked away and Lucy was certain that she'd puke. The queen had refused to attend.

 _Is how fast she started screaming a good thing or a bad?_

 _I don't think there's really a 'good' in this case. It means that she had no remorse._

On her hip, she felt Loke's key warm and extracted her hand from Kaleb's to touch it. She shifted slightly away from him as she summoned the dragon back along her hip.

 _Yeah?_ Lucy asked.

 _"_ _The Light has a kind of sentience. We can hear it and it's_ not _happy,"_ Loke said through his key.

 _What does that mean?_

 _"_ _That Kaleb is its favorite son and it's not pulling punches. It's the remnant of what the Celestial King used to create the archangels."_

 _Will she live?_

 _"_ _No."_

It took thirty minutes for the screams to stop. That was when the younger princess puked, and everyone was ushered out.

Lucy was grateful. While she wouldn't mourn the hopefully dead princess, she also didn't want to see her body. _Van was right_ , she mused. She'd killed but she'd never set out with the intent to kill.

 _It happens occasionally. Van being right, I mean._

 _Can I have a few minutes to myself?_ Lucy shut him out with music.

When they returned to the house, Emzadi, Bickslow, Cristoff, and Farron disappeared with their significant others while the remaining adults settled into the sitting room to play a card game that none of them were really thinking about, but it served as a distraction.

.~*~.

It didn't surprise anyone that Kaleb cracked first and decided that it was time to head back to White Sea. Arman was grateful that his children remained close as adults. The group decided to spend the weekend at the main branch. Only Laxus and Freed had moved into homes outside of the guild.

A party was already in full swing when they arrived.

"Are they celebrating Kurino's death?" Lucy asked.

"No. It's just Saturday," Vander said. "Come on." He pulled Lucy into the fray to dance.

 _Lucy, dance. Enjoy life. All that happened today is justice being served._

She felt him take the memory of Kurino's screams from her head. Kaleb did the same for his siblings. Each glanced at him when he did but none said anything. They pitied that she'd chosen a painful death but not the death itself.

It didn't take long before Vander was pulled onto the stage to sing and Lucy took advantage of the break to grab a drink from the bar.

 _He's exhausting,_ Lucy thought.

 _Try growing up with him. Him and Bickslow both. It's a damned miracle Dad isn't completely gray._

Lucy giggled. _He'd still be attractive._

Kaleb walked over to her. "Feeling better?"

"Yeah. You're right."

"I usually am."

"Not really."

On the other side of the guild, Cristoff and Meredy were taking a break from dancing as well. She was curled up in his lap, enjoying how small and dainty he made her feel. His fingers were tapping to the music on her thigh. Bickslow and Erik dropped onto the couch opposite of them.

"Have you ever noticed that they don't touch?" Meredy said, watching Lucy and Kaleb.

"Lucy touches everyone," Cristoff said, ignoring the other couple to pepper kisses on Meredy's ticklish neck.

She giggled and pinched his side. "I know. That's why it's weird. Look at them."

The group turned to watch Lucy and Kaleb. When Kaleb moved closer to her, she moved away. Their movements seemed to mirror one another.

 _Kaleb, have you ever touched Lucy?_ Cristoff asked.

 _Yes._

"He says he has."

"But has he ever touched her while her dragon is active?" Emzadi asked, plopping down next to Cristoff. His eyes widened as he understood what his sister was implying and asked the question of Kaleb.

 _I…think so._

Kaleb was distracted by a mage coming up to him to talk about a mission he'd seen. Seeing the group of them, Lucy started to walk over. Erik stood and pretended to bump into her.

"Shit. Sorry, Tink. You know me. I just can't hold my arsenic." Her strawberry daiquiri was spilled down the front of the dress she'd borrowed from Xally.

"It's fine. I'm going upstairs to change."

 _There. Now you have an opportunity._

*.*.*

Lucy stripped out of the dress and washed the sticky drink off. She'd just put on a bikini top and shorts when she noticed that the dragon had perched itself on her breasts again.

"Who are you trying to seduce?" she asked it.

 _Me?_

 _You're outside my door, aren't you?_

 _Yes._

 _Come on in. I'm almost dressed._

She listened as his steps walked up to her open bedroom door.

"Cris asked me a question that I realized that I didn't know the answer to."

"You not knowing the answer? That is impressive," she teased lightly. She walked over to him. His eyes immediately went to the dragon. "And what's this magical question?"

He approached her slowly before stopping as soon as he sensed she'd step back. "Why don't you ever touch me?"

"I held your hand earlier today," she said breathlessly. Her eyes never left his and he moved closer now that he knew she wouldn't move.

"Why don't you kiss me? You think about it anytime we're near each other."

"Because if I kiss you, the stars'll explode."

"Good." He pulled her to him and kissed her.

 _Mine! My mate!_ her mind screamed. He felt her mind stutter as the dragon soul that had been waiting for her to accept him consumed her for a second.

 _How long have you known?_ he asked, unwilling to break the kiss.

 _Since that first night._ She was both pulling him towards her bed by his shirt and trying to strip him of it. _Clothes off. Now._

 _That's not very romantic._

 _Then you ask._

 _I think I said that you'd have to ask the last time._

 _Really? You're going to argue this with me now?_ Lucy stepped back and looked at him. "Share pleasure with me?"

"Gods yes."

 **Yes! Okay. That's all.**

 **Also, brownie points for who can recognize the musical reference.**


	24. Chapter 24

**Much love and hi! to the new followers and favorites.**

 **I don't own FT or the Pradesh family. But it's the first appearance of one of my OC's.**

Kaleb brushed the hair out of Lucy's face, careful not to wake her. The gesture caused her to snuggle into his side and press a sleepy kiss to his chest. The sun was still breaching the horizon, but he had no interest in walking out to her balcony to greet it.

It had been Bickslow that first noticed that Kaleb was smitten with Lucy. He, Erik, and Lucy were always goofing off when at the guild together. They'd created a weird game that they played as a way to train. He'd attempted to follow it once, but he wasn't entirely sure there were rules since each person's thoughts went off in different directions.

Bickslow caught up with him in his office.

 _"_ _You know that's dangerous, right?" Bickslow asked._

 _"_ _What is?"_

 _"_ _Falling for Lucy. She's a dragon slayer so she's gonna have a mate."_

He'd grown up around Emzadi and Cristoff. With Emzadi, she'd known that Laxus needed time and was willing to wait until he was ready. Cristoff had claimed Meredy on the first night of the full moon but pulled out the stops to get Meredy to a place that she was willing to accept him.

When Lucy hadn't reacted to him at first, he'd assumed that he wasn't her mate. That didn't change the fact that she was beautiful and kept up with Cristoff on a full moon. That she was brilliant and sharp-tongued with no qualms about putting him in his place.

"You're thinking awfully loud," Lucy mumbled, pressing kisses to his chest.

"Sorry." She continued to press kisses and nipping him with her teeth. "Don't start something you're not awake enough to finish," he growled.

She giggled and sat up. "I dunno. I'm pretty sure you're the one that passed out first."

"I'm sorry that I don't have dragon stamina but that was a couple of hours ago."

His gaze slid to the dragon. He'd noticed that the detail in the dragon had been slowly becoming clearer. Now, it looked like it could pop off her skin and become a physical creature. Its scales were blueish-black, and he wondered if he'd feel ridges if he ran his finger across them. Though the wings were closed, the faint pattern that looked like a cross between the aurora borealis and the milky way could be seen. It looked asleep around her neck with its tail wagging slightly.

"You didn't claim me."

She kissed him then nipped his neck. "No. A fresh mating would have been too difficult to separate. And the location of the keys might take too long for you to leave White Sea for." She kissed him again. "We have time."

"Okay," he said.

"Have you checked the tablet? I heard it go off."

"That was three orgasms ago. I got a bit distracted." Kaleb rolled over so that he hovered above her before kissing her.

"Just a bit?" she asked, her hands slowly tracing the muscles of his abdomen. "I must try harder."

She wrapped her legs around his waist and pulled him in closer. It would be another hour before she'd get a chance to look at her tablet.

*.*.*

She swatted his hands away as she crawled over him to get to her tablet on the bedside table.

"What could be so important?"

"Says the man that rarely takes a break from work? I put a special alert tone for that star map program." She opened the program and slowly deciphered the results. "Fuck."

"What? Where is it?"

"Pergrande. Looks like it's right under the capital."

"No."

Lucy stood. "Excuse me?"

"You're not going to Pergrande," he said, sitting up. "It's too-"

"For future reference, when I say 'excuse me' in that tone, it means I'm giving you a chance to correct yourself."

"I'm aware. Pergrande is one of the most dangerous places for women in the world. They would take you and sell you off as a breeder."

"I know that." She grabbed a random dress from her closet, slid it on, then grabbed her comm from her dresser before leaving him in her bedroom.

"Who are you calling?" he asked, following her without dressing.

"Van. Do you know anyone better for getting me into Pergrande?"

"No one. That doesn't change the fact that the half-baked schemes in your head will likely get you killed."

It was a testament to how mad she was that she chose Debussy to block him out. She didn't like the composer, but Kaleb hated him.

"Hey, Van. Did I wake you?"

"A little," Vander replied, carefully extracting himself from the man he'd fallen into bed with the night before. "What can I do for you?"

"I need a favor. The keys are in Pergrande."

"That explains the seething feedback that I'm getting from Kaleb. I'll be there in a bit."

"Thank you."

"You're going to ignore me, aren't you?"

"Right now, yes. Later, I might let you seduce me into bed. If you don't intend on being helpful, get dressed and go deal with what is probably an impressive stack of paperwork."

As Vander had commented, she could feel his frustrated feedback loop.

"Do you think I'm weak? Is that the issue here?" Lucy asked, an old frustration flaring up.

"Of course not," he said, reaching out to here but letting his arms drop when she jerked away. "I just don't think that you appreciate how difficult it'll be to not only get into Pergrande but more importantly, get out. Even Vander doesn't do jobs going into the capital."

"I know it won't be easy, but I'm doing it. I've come too far to stop now."

"Fine."

Kaleb walked into the bedroom, dressed, and left.

"You can come out now," Lucy said, falling onto her couch.

"You all right?" Vander asked, stepping out of the shadow.

"Ask me again in a bit. So, any ideas?"

"Who are you going to ask?"

"You, since you're the only one that knows Pergrande, Cris, and Meredy."

"Are you sure?" Vander asked, sitting on the coffee table.

"Cris is my knight. He won't let me go without him. His and Meredy's bond is too new so she'll need to go as well."

"Laxus will be pissed."

"I know, but same thing with Emi. And _that_ many dragon slayers on one mission would be like a bright flashing light."

"Fair enough. I think you should bring Erik and Bix though."

"Why?"

"Pergrandian guards have a fondness for poisons. It'll be useful to have Erik. And I don't think he's ready not to have Bix around. Besides, it'll be good to have one male couple in Pergrande."

"Okay."

"Where exactly are we going? How close are the coordinates?"

Lucy sat up and grabbed her tablet. "I'd say probably within a square mile. Tops."

"That's still a decent amount of real estate to cover." He took the tablet and studied where the celestial coordinates dictated. "You know, I think Bix might be right about you being a trouble magnet."

Lucy frowned. "Why?"

"Because Skys Reach Coliseum is dead center of that area."

"The gladiator pits," she breathed.

"Yeah. If we're going in there, we're gonna have to be public about it. Between the wards and the fact that a number of the gladiators are mages, we'd never make it out alive without some official protections."

"We can't get in through the Boscan government."

"No, but I might know someone who can get us in."

"And you haven't tried yet?"

"I was saving it for a rainy day. I've never needed to get into the capital."

"Okay. Thanks."

He sighed when he saw her chewing on her lip. "Do you know what happened to Ganier and Zen?"

Her eyes widened when she looked at Vander and nodded. There was a portrait of Arman with Ganier, Farron, and Zen in his office. She'd asked him about it one day and found out about the second son that had died with Ganier in Pergrande.

Ganier and the two boys had joined Arman in Pergrande because the assignment was expected to be a long one. She had been at the house they were renting just outside of the capital with Zen, who was still nursing. Farron had joined Arman at the castle so that he could play with the children of the nobles. They'd felt the explosion, but it wasn't until Arman and Farron were on the airship to leave Pergrande that they found out that someone had set off a bomb in his house killing his wife and son.

"Can you blame him for being worried?"

"No. I blame him for acting like a Neanderthal."

Vander laughed. "Go easy on him. I've gotta make a few calls. So do you." He stepped into his shadow with a jaunty salute.

Lucy called Cristoff first. As she'd predicted, he demanded to go before she had a chance to ask him. Meredy laughed when Lucy gave her an exasperated look.

"Has he fully seen your magic?" Lucy asked.

Understanding what she meant, Meredy shook her head. "No. There's been a few things that I've wanted to try out in bed, but I haven't yet."

"Can you do _that_ with it?"

"In theory. I've never tried."

"Hm…"

"Right now, I'm wishing I could read your mind," Cristoff grumbled.

"Where'd the fun be in that?" Meredy asked playfully, turning in his lap to kiss him. "I think Emi is planning on cornering you to ask how last night went."

"Hm…We'll make a shopping trip out of it. You need some lovely Boscan clothing to show off that mark."

"Lucy, I would prefer you not kill my mate."

"Talk to your sister about that. I'd rather try my luck with an all-day event instead of her trying to shove an all-day event into three hours."

"I think we're frightening her," Cristoff said, nuzzling Meredy's neck.

"No. It's just shopping," she replied with a roll of her eyes.

"Have you ever gone shopping with Erza?" Lucy watched as her eyes widened. "Think that but worse."

"You know, on second thought…"

"Nice try. You're not leaving me to deal with her alone. I'll get Xally to act as a buffer."

"She left to go back to her hospital this morning," Cristoff interjected.

"Fuck. Cristoff, my dear knight-"

"No."

"But you're supposed to protect your queen and mate," Lucy whined.

"From life threatening scenarios, like my queen deciding to go to Pergrande. Not shopping with their sister-in-law."

"Have you been shopping with your sister? It's pretty damn close to a life-threatening scenario."

"While I can't argue that point, the answer is still no."

"Fine," Lucy said with a pout. "I've gotta call Bixy. Maybe he will."

"What about Laxus?"

"Going shopping? Have you met the man? He buys ten of the same shirt."

"I meant is he going to Pergrande?"

"Oh. No, and I'm sure I'm going to get an earful about that. It's too many dragon slayers. Our magic signatures are too unique and given that we can't sneak in, I don't want to make them suspicious."

"Okay."

"I've gotta go. I need to talk to Kaleb today too."

"Wasn't he just there?" Meredy asked.

"He's not thrilled about me going to Pergrande."

"Makes sense," Cristoff said. Lucy was certain he was feeling the same undertone of annoyance as the rest of them.

"Yes, I know. I know about Zen and Ganier but-"

"But you have to do this," Cristoff said.

"Yes."

"He'll get over it."

Lucy sighed. "I hope so."

"Put on that lavender lingerie that you got because it reminded you of Kaleb's eyes." Lucy opened her mouth to refute that. "Oh, don't bother. Get to it. We're expecting lots of details," Meredy said with her own wicked smile.

"Hmph," she said but hung up to call Bickslow.

The two men were downstairs playing poker with the rest of the Thunder Legion. She'd known they would be and would have gone down, but she'd have gotten sucked into the game.

"Is Laxus going?" was Bickslow's first question.

"No, because Emi would have to go too."

"Are you trying to get me killed?"

"Actually, I mostly wanted Erik, but I know he's not ready for you not to be around yet."

"You wound me. Can I be there when you tell Laxus that he's not coming?"

"Sure."

Bickslow turned to look at Erik who nodded. "We're good."

"Okay. Thanks."

Lucy hung up and stared out the window before deciding to take Meredy's advice. The color looked good against her skin and she wouldn't lie to herself that she'd bought it with the expectation that the only person that would see it would be Kaleb.

Thane found Lucy leaning against the wall opposite the door for Kaleb's office. He stopped, glanced at his schedule to confirm that he didn't have a meeting or anything, and then looked back at Lucy. It took a minute for him to realize that she was as anxious about their fight as Kaleb was. Not that he knew what it was about though he hoped it meant they'd stopping dancing around each other.

When Kaleb arrived in the office, he was cranky and it surprised Thane that his first action was to call his father. He was glad that he'd heard parts of the conversation since he'd been about to get Lucy. That had become his go-to response over the last few weeks. Everyone knew about what had happened to Arman's wife in Pergrande, so Thane wasn't too surprised that Kaleb's instinctive reaction was to say no. Even he couldn't pretend that it wouldn't have been his reaction if it had been his wife.

"You know Miss Lucy is outside, right?" he asked as he placed the papers on Kaleb's desk. The normally polite guildmaster grunted and glanced past Thane at the door. "I'm going to get her," Thane said.

"Wait!"

Thane decided to ignore him. He swung the door open, grabbed Lucy, and shoved her in before shutting the door with a resounding click.

The two stared at each other before both saying, "Sorry."

Kaleb chuckled, set his tablet to the side, and gestured for Lucy to come to him. He lifted her so that she was sitting on his desk and looking at him at eye level. His hands were on her thighs and his fingers were making random patterns.

"I don't think you're weak or stupid. You're brilliant, amazing, beautiful… I could go on for eternity if you let me. I was falling for you when I thought I wasn't your mate and knew that falling for you was stupid. Even Bix called me out on it.

"The idea of you going to Pergrande terrifies the shit out of me. I don't want you anywhere near that country."

"I know. And I understand, but-"

"Do you? You haven't lost yet."

"I've lost."

"Since you've become a dragon slayer?" Lucy hesitated. "You're not indestructible. Nobody is. And I've just gotten you. I don't think I have it in me to lose you."

She pulled him to her so that she could kiss him. "I get it," she said softly, not moving away from the kiss. "I get it, but I have to get these keys. It's how I'll get Aquarius back. According to Loke, Cassiopeia is fit to be tied up there. Whatever's got her so riled up could have consequences for us. Besides, I'm not going alone. Van, Bix, Erik, Cris, and Meredy are all going."

She lifted one of his hands and pressed a kiss to his pulse point. "And do you have any idea of how hard it was not to jump you for the last two months? I knew you were my mate and I was falling hard. I just wasn't ready. I was falling too."

He pulled her into another kiss and she reveled in it. Reveled in the sensation of this powerful man wanting her.

"Has anyone ever told you that you taste like apples?" she asked breathlessly.

"You, a few times last night. I vaguely remember you wondering if my cum would taste like apples."

"Yeah…it didn't. I'm a little disappointed about that." She kissed him again. As she did, she slid her arms out of the straps of her dress. "Do you know how many times I've fantasized about you taking me on this desk?"

"Yes," he growled, watching as the fabric pooled around her waist. He'd had to suffer through more than a few erections because she didn't shield her thoughts from him.

He sent Thane a message not to let anyone disturb him, picked the position she seemed the most interested in, and fulfilled the mutual fantasy.

"That was fun," she said, curled up in his lap. "We should do it again."

"Now or in general?"

"Both?"

Kaleb paused. "That might have to wait."

"Huh?"

The door flew open as an irate dragon slayer burst in. "Fucking hell, Lucy."

 _Hm. He's mad enough to use my name_ , Lucy mused while Laxus raged. _Erik must've had a shitty hand._

 _Really?_ Kaleb asked.

 _Yeah. It's his tell. He gets everyone riled up so that they make sloppy decisions. Like slamming his cards down and storming up here._ Then she made a low, grumbling growl that stopped Laxus.

"You're both naked," he said. His normal fluster at seeing the mage he considered a little sister was smothered beneath his dragon's need to pay attention to his queen.

"Yes. You interrupted us about to have another round of sex on this desk."

 _I was thinking about bending you over it,_ Kaleb told her.

 _I like that idea, but can we find a way to avoid the bruises?_

 _Probably._

"You're not coming," Lucy said while having the conversation with Kaleb.

"Why not? I'm the most powerful-"

"Cris and Emi would probably disagree."

"One of the most powerful dragon slayers you know."

"You're right. But if you go, Emi goes. That makes five dragon slayers. And that's too many. Cris and Erik are both going for reasons beyond stroking their ego."

"Fine," he said, slamming the door behind him.

"Are you going to go after him?"

"No. The world is weird, but I believe that there had to be a reason that the universe decided there needed to be a dragon queen amongst the slayers. If I go after him now, it'll set a bad precedent. Emi will soothe him." She turned in his lap to straddle him. Both hissed as his erection teased her folds. "Are we good?"

"Yeah, little queen. We're good."

.~*~.

Deep in the woods, far from civilization, a young woman sat meditating. Her wild ginger curls strained against their hair tie. Her eyes were closed as she focused on the ground beneath the feet of a man and woman.

 _"_ _Damn it," the woman said._

 _"_ _Soon. You'll get it soon."_

Even thousands of miles away, the man's voice sent a shiver of fear down her spine. It caused her to drop the connection since he could occasionally sense her through it.

The fire dragon slayer was headed towards Crocus. The twin slayers were already there. The iron dragon slayer and his mate were also in Crocus but preparing for battle. The wind dragon slayer and her mate were in Margaret Town. Sun, moon, lightning, poison, and the Queen were all interconnected in Bosco. It wasn't time yet, but when it was, she'd send the others to Bosco.

She didn't react to the dragon summoning herself next to her.

"If you'd been a little earlier, you could've caused problems," the young woman said.

"I know. That's why I waited. Is it time yet?"

"You know that it isn't. She still struggles to revive more than two at a time, but with the right two…" Her cerulean blue eyes glanced up at the dragon. "Soon, Nurem."

"I worry, Rhiannon."

"My mother would say that's a parent's job. If we find them, it'll be safe for you to stay on Earthland. I've theorized a hundred different scenarios. We have to let the queen get the keys. She needs to be allowed to use the time she has."

"It would be easier if you were there."

Rhiannon took a handful of sand out of a jar and threw it in the air to watch it fall and read the patterns only she knew. "In only three of a dozen scenarios was that true. Generally, she doesn't trust me. Even in my preferred scenario, I'm not her favorite person."

The dragon huffed. "Fine. Play your games."

Rhiannon heard her fear and turned to look at the dragon. "I'm watching. Don't worry. Now go. I'm an equal distance from most of the slayers. I would prefer that _he_ not sense you."

She didn't respond to the dragon returning to the celestial realm. Her fingers were in the dirt. Listening to what the earth told her.

 **This ended up being much more citrus-y than I'm used to writing. It was weird. Especially considering how much was written while at work. It's like lemon pound cake. (Okay, so I snorted when I first wrote that line, but it was too funny not to keep.)**


	25. Chapter 25

**Hello, dearies. (I'm still working on his laugh.)**

 **As always, I own naught.**

"Why are we here?" Lucy asked, tightening the shawl she'd made Vander buy her. They were sitting in the square of Gelo, a city along the border of Iceburg and Pergrande. Since the shadowquip mage hadn't told her where they were going before essentially kidnapping her (again), she wasn't dressed for the cold weather.

Most of Iceburg was a series of mountainous plateaus that were high enough above sea level to be on average, ten degrees cooler than the countries on either side with an average high in the low 60's.

Iceburg fashion leaned towards the conservative out of necessity that became cultural. When she realized why she was getting such scandalized looks, she burst out laughing.

"What?" Vander asked.

"I have a friend that's from Iceburg that has a stripping habit. I find myself wondering how he fared here."

"Is he hot?"

"Objectively, yeah. Good luck getting him away from Juvia though."

"Hm. Is she hot?"

"Yeah."

"Cool. I'll just have both of 'em."

"Not if you interrupt Kaleb and me again. I'll geld you."

Vander cupped his groin and inched away from her. He'd dropped in that morning with the announcement that Lucy was going with him, interrupting Kaleb's lovely way of waking her up. She'd been so close to cumming that she'd nearly killed Vander where he stood.

She laughed at his reaction, knowing that there was a hint of a cackle in that laugh. As happy-go-lucky as the man always seemed, she could see the difference now.

.~*~.

 _Emzadi and an exhausted Lucy and Meredy returned to the guild after spending nearly eight hours shopping with the solar dragon slayer. Bickslow had tapped out after four with the statement that he'd only stayed that long because Scary Lucy's glare any time he tried to leave. The guild was in the midst of the loudest party she'd seen yet._

 _"_ _What's going on? It's Tuesday, right?" Lucy asked._

 _"_ _I'm not sure. Time could flow different when your shopping with Emi. It felt like forever," Meredy said as they found the first empty couch and collapsed into it._

 _Vander found them, or more likely saw Emzadi getting them drinks, and scooped Lucy into a bear hug and kissing her, only flinching slightly at Kaleb's reaction to that._

 _"_ _You wonderful, amazing, magnificent woman."_

 _"_ _While I'm not going to deny that, what did I do to earn this praise?" Lucy asked as soon as he set her down._

 _"_ _You haven't heard?"_

 _Lucy pointed at Emzadi. "She wouldn't let me bring my tablet."_

 _"_ _Shopping is serious business. You didn't need it," she huffed. Unlike her mate who was still cranky with her, Emzadi had accepted her reasoning for why they couldn't go to Pergrande. She did make Lucy agree that once everyone's mating had settled, the women should do a girls' trip whether it be a job or spa, she wasn't picky._

What's going on? _Lucy asked Kaleb._

In light of Kurino's corruption, they did an investigation into the Steel Council. It was officially disbanded today for crimes against Boscan citizens. _He showed her the information he knew. That the Steel Council kidnapped family members or used the threat of violence to blackmail powerful mages into joining. They'd threatened Xally to control Vander. And threatened Vander to help keep Kaleb from saying anything. He told her about Presca, Vander's partner, who'd lost nearly his entire family to them._

 _The corruption of the Steel Council wasn't a well-kept secret. When a mage was dragged out for spying at the guild, it was the first time the mages truly acknowledged that something had changed. All of them knew they could be summoned for one reason or another._

 _Since the announcement of Kurino's execution on Sunday, it had seemed as if the guild couldn't decide how they felt. Knowing that the Steel Council was under her purview, many seemed to want to celebrate while others thought that constituted treason. Thought, there hadn't seemed to be any tears shed for the princess. Any conversations implying that Kaleb wasn't fit to lead were relegated to dark corners away from any dragon slayers to hear._

.~*~.

"I'm waiting for an informant and it's for your task to get us into Pergrande so it only seems fair that you be my eye candy. Besides, Presca is still helping his cousin."

"Have you thought about if you'll rejoin?" Lucy asked. Vander gave her a confused look. "They're planning on reinstituting the Steel Council, but it would be voluntary."

"I know. I'm still thinking about it. There are things that I liked about being a spy. And a lot more that I hated about them. I think it'll depend on who they choose to replace Grandace."

"Will you go to the execution?"

"If I was allowed to kill him myself, yeah. But he's claiming the Immaculate Light will see that he had the right intentions," Vander sneered. "I don't want to sit there and watch him scream. I want to cause it." He glanced at Lucy who was watching him candidly. Lucy who was smiles and playful evil. "Do you think less of me?"

"No. I thought about taking off Kurino's head the night of the fight. Kaleb told me not to. Even if he wasn't my mate, the idea of someone hurting him that way…" She sighed. "Even still. I hated hearing her scream like that."

"That's because you're a better person than I am."

"That's not true," she said. Then she stood, pulled at his cheeks to fake a smile, then ran off before he could retaliate. The two ran around square laughing as Lucy dodged Vander's attempts to retaliate.

He skidded to a stop and Lucy followed suit. Boscan clothing was distinctive for its sheer fabrics that gave the illusion of modesty. As such, there'd been no hiding that she'd come from Bosco. In many of the more conservative nations of Ishgar, Boscans were considered particularly loose. Many of the men had ogled her even as their wives sneered.

A man had caught Vander's eye. Instead of leering at Lucy, he was watching Vander with interest. His hair was cut short enough that she couldn't tell what color it was, and there was a Pergrandian royal family crest tattooed on his forearm.

"Really? That's why you dragged me here?" she hissed.

"He wasn't really going to make himself super obvious." Vander snaked his shadows around the man to keep him from running off. "Sorry, not sorry. But we need something from you."

"Whatever it is, I ain't got it."

"You do. Right here," Vander said, tapping the guard's forehead. "Now, where do you live?"

"And if I don't tell you?"

"You'll die."

"Van…" Lucy said, deciding to play good cop. "You're a Pergrandian guard for the royal family. The fact that you're here means you had a falling out. Since you still have the tattoo, you either fled before they executed you or they exiled you with it because it would limit where you could go. They tolerate you here because they rely on staying in the good graces of Pergrande. How am I doing so far?"

"Not bad," Vander answered.

"Didn't ask _you_. Now, since you're Pergrandian and were obviously more interested in my friend which I don't blame you because he's attractive and a very good kisser-"

"Aw. Thanks."

"Welcome," she told Vander with a smile before turning back to the former guard. "Anyways, Iceburg is very nearly _legally_ heterosexual so this can't be pleasant for you."

"What are you offering?"

"Tattoo removal."

"Only the royal family can remove it without cutting off my arm."

"I have my ways. Which I won't show you here. Do we have a deal?"

"Seal it like a Boscan," the guard said, eyeing Vander who in turn looked at Lucy.

"It's not me he's interested in," Lucy said.

Vander groaned then pulled the man into a rough kiss. When they separated, the guard had a smirk.

"You're right. He is a good kisser."

The man didn't say anything further as he led them to his flat. It was a sparsely furnished place. The bed looked uncomfortable and had a threadbare blanket. The table was hidden under papers, inks, bits of leather, and wax seals.

"Well?"

"Open, gate of the virgin! Virgo!" Virgo popped out, already holding the cream. "Prophetic as always."

"Punishment?"

"No. Tell Leo that we're getting close though."

"Yes, Princess."

Lucy opened the foul-smelling ointment, scooped a small amount on her finger, then placed the small dab on the skin. They waited in silence for it to dry and Lucy peeled it off. With the ointment came the ink.

"Do we have a deal?" she asked showing him where the ink was on the peeled ointment.

"What do you need?"

"Papers into Pergrande," Vander said.

"You're a Boscan spy. Why do you need papers?"

"We need to get into Skys Reach," Lucy said.

"Than you're a damned idiot."

"That's been implied a few times lately," she replied blandly.

He tried staring her down for a minute before asking, "How many people?"

"Six: two women, four men."

His gaze swept over her. "You speak Joyan?"

"No. Why?"

"Joyan warqueens and nobles often buy gladiators from Skys Reach. Can you do the accent?"

"Probably."

"I'll make you papers for Joyan nobles for you and the other woman. You'll have to make up the back stories later. The men can be slaves or even Pergardians hired to watch your backs. They won't question the idea of hired guards. Happens often enough."

"Understood."

 _You're anxious. It's got Cris nearly vibrating out of his seat._

It didn't surprise her that all of them were waiting in White Sea. When Arman found out that Kaleb was her mate but that she wouldn't claim him until after the keys had been retrieved, he'd called in a favor. Now, an intercept, the fastest airship in Ishgar, was waiting for them at the White Sea skyport.

Kaleb had found the entire thing funny. All he'd say was that Arman was tired of waiting for grandbabies. Meredy wasn't ready yet and Emzadi just hadn't gotten lucky.

 _Is it packed? We'll leave as soon as we get back._

 _Are you sure you want to leave straight away?_

 _Well…Your brother interrupted this morning. I wouldn't mind a chance to finish. It'll be an awfully long time._

 _Also, if my math is right, if you leave as soon as you get back, you'll get to Bellum too early anyways. You should leave around seven tonight._

 _Didn't think about that. Go tell Cris and Bix to take some time._

It took less time than Lucy expected for him to make the papers. She spent the time talking about the mission with Kaleb and his siblings with Vander.

 _Have I mentioned how sexy it is when you carry on two conversations?_

 _Probably but I'm not opposed to hearing it again._

As he had when they'd arrived, Vander chose to Void hop from outside of town. Iceburg magic was largely elemental and ice based. He avoided causing a panic by stepping out of the shadows. That was his excuse. Lucy guessed that this was one of his stops before going into Pergrande and didn't want anyone to know the full extent of his magic.

.~*~.

Lucy was curled up next to Kaleb, absently tracing patterns on his chest. They'd shared pleasure but mostly cuddled. He wondered if her cuddling was a dragonslayer trait like it was with his brother. Her thoughts were submerged beneath music. When she'd first joined the guild, he thought she did that to keep him out. After a few days, he'd probed a little deeper and realized it was entirely unconscious. It meant that she was particularly pensive. It was also usually peaceful piano concertos that he could listen to all day. In fact, he'd had Thane find him some of the music so that he could listen to it while she was gone.

"What are thinking about?" he asked. Her face lit up when he asked.

"I don't wanna leave you. Not yet."

"I don't like it either. But you were right. I can't afford to leave right now. I sent a couple of groups to help with Avatar. I asked Laxus but with you headed to Pergrande, he didn't want to leave if you called for help."

Her eyes widened, and she moved to lean on his chest so that she was looking him in the eye more easily. "You didn't tell me that."

"I know. I didn't want to worry you. Liam, the crowned prince, asked me. He's working on repairing any potential damage with Hisui. Besides, Avatar is far enough north that their forces could flee into Bosco."

Lucy sat up. "I should go make sure everything's ready. We leave soon."

Kaleb glanced at the clock. She wasn't wrong, but he knew that wasn't why she was climbing out of his bed and dressing.

"Lucy?"

"It's nothing."

He stood, turned her around, and pulled her into an embrace. He felt the tears against his skin as she sobbed. In her mind, there were two warring factions. One wanted to stay, claim him, and wait to go. Wait until he could go with her. The other side wanted Aquarius. Was pointing out that Loke said that something was going on with Cassiopeia.

"I don't wanna go," she said, hiccupping. _I wanna stay with you._

 _You'll be gone two weeks tops._

 _I don't care._

Kaleb let go of her, sat on the bed so that he was closer to eye level, and wiped away her tears. "Little queen, what's the right decision? Use that beautiful brain of yours. As glad as I am to have your heart, you're a burgeoning queen. What's the right decision?"

"To go."

"I agree. If Cassiopeia is worried enough that she's forced the Celestial King to get you to retrieve her keys, there has to be a reason for it. And it might not be a reason that can wait. Besides, you'll have the mental link with me."

"I don't like it."

He kissed her lips softly. "I don't either."

The alarm Lucy had set to keep from being late chimed and she sighed. "You should get dressed. I'm going to call everyone and them meet us at the skyport."

While dressing, he glanced at the box on his dresser. It was black with a star on the top. Part of why Emzadi had kept Meredy and Lucy out for so long shopping was to give him time to get it.

When he walked out, she smiled at him. Her eyes were still a little shiny and it wasn't the big grin that she usually had but he'd take it.

"Should I be insulted that you smile at me like that when you see me dressed?"

Lucy giggled, walked over, and hugged him. Her hand unabashedly moved down to grab his ass. "I don't know. I do have plenty material of you naked." She stayed there, breathing in his scent.

 _You should take one with you._

 _Hm?_

 _My shirt._

 _I already stole one._

 _Is that where the one with silver stripes went?_

 _Hm? What did you say?_

He laughed because she was teasing him. He remembered her remarking that she liked the fabric that the shirt had been made from. The sight of her getting up at one point and putting it on to respond to a call from Vander had been one of sexiest things he'd ever seen. Followed by coming back from the office for lunch and finding her asleep on his couch with a book on Pergrandian politics being used as her pillow. Still wearing nothing but his shirt.

"Will you be okay?"

"Yeah. Because you're annoyingly right. Something is going on with Cassi and that needs to be taken care of. Van thought to call Farron to make sure that there won't be a Joyan delegation in Pergrande. There isn't currently so we need to not waste the opportunity." She stood on her toes and pulled him into a kiss. "Thank you."

He took her hands and she felt him placed something in her palm, but he didn't let go so that she could look.

"Will you promise with me?"

He heard her brain go to a screeching halt. It was silent as she looked down at the ring in her hand. It was a design found amongst the celestial mages in Cellis. The ring was designed to look like a favored key with embellishments around the stone. He'd chosen Aquarius since he knew how important she was to her. Most of the rings in Cellis chose stellarium if they could afford it but he wanted to put some of his magic into the lacrima so they'd always be connected.

As her brain started to process, he knew that she recognized his magic in the lacrima but not the key design.

She took his hand and placed the ring in it. "No."

He was fairly certain his heart stopped. He hadn't considered that she'd turn him down. Even if she hadn't said it, he knew she loved him. They were mates.

"Kaleb," she said softly, placing her hand on his cheek. "I meant not yet."

"Why?" He didn't want to sound angry and she let him take a step away from her.

"Because it sounds like you're asking me _because_ I'm leaving. Not because you're ready. Not because I'm ready. You're the guildmaster of White Sea, the largest guild in Ishgar. I'm a dragonslayer whose also an almost queen of an almost tatsu. And quite possibly, more importantly, a Fiorian socialite. I'm pretty sure your father would need to actually deal with the legality of that part."

 _You're rambling._

"Right. Sorry." She sighed. "Like you said, I'll be gone for probably two weeks. You might change your mind."

"I'm your mate."

"Yes, you are. But there's other potentials out there. You might decide that _this_ ," she gestured to the two of them, "was just sexual tension. I'd hate it, but I'd respect that. You have the right to tell me no. This isn't something that should be decided on a whim."

He felt the hurt seep away because she was right. He'd planned on waiting until the perfect time. Had wanted to romance her and sweep her off her feet because he knew she had fantasies about that. She'd accepted the idea that it would never happen and wanted to prove her wrong. He'd heard her jealousy when she'd helped Cristoff come up with ways to get to know his mate. Knew what she gossiped about with his sisters.

"I've waited years for you. I can wait a bit longer," he said finally. He took off one of his necklaces, slid the charm off the chain, and replaced it with the ring before dropping the long chain over Lucy's head. "Take it with you. You'll always be able to talk to me with that lacrima."

She was crying as she pulled him into a kiss.

"You're going to be late," he said, pulling away reluctantly before she could follow through her thought of taking him on the couch.

"Fine."

The others were already waiting for them at the skyport.

"What were you doing?" Bickslow asked, bumping her playfully.

"You're going to be with your mate so shut up about me wanting to spend time with mine," she grumbled.

Laxus pulled her into a bear hug. "Be safe, Blondie," he said quietly. When he released her, looking at the others, "If she comes back injured, I'm frying all of your asses. Understood?"

Lucy hit him. "Knock it off. It's a dangerous mission and you can't blame them if I get hurt."

"Sure, I can. You're the queen."

Lucy glanced at Kaleb. "Not yet but soon."

Freed gave her one of his light pens. Just in case. Bickslow very nearly needed to carry her away once she started kissing Kaleb goodbye. As they boarded, Cristoff noticed the ring around her neck.

 _What's with the ring?_ Cristoff asked Kaleb.

 _She said that I was rushing it._

 _Did you tell her you'd ordered it a week ago?_

 _That seemed like coercion. I'll wait. We've got time._


	26. Chapter 26

**Here. Since y'all are awesome. Have another chapter on me.**

 **As always, I don't own Fairy Tail or the Pradesh family.**

Eagle had been a slave most of his life. His first owner raised him, clothed him, fed him, and trained him. When his owner was asked why he bothered, he said that it was an investment. Especially after his wings appeared for the first time when he was around five years old. Time was relative.

He'd started counting winters when he found out that he was thirteen. That was when his owner had auctioned off his virginity. After that, he was moved to Skys Reach to be a gladiator. After his first rape there, he'd realized that his owner had only kept him as a slave at home so that his first time could be sold.

He was lethal in the ring. His owner had made sure that he was trained. His owner's husband was chatty when he was drunk. They'd kept him because he promised to be attractive. That he had good genes. They trained him because pretty will sell for a lot, but pretty and lethal would sell for more.

His owner was careful though. Careful to remind him that he was in Pergrande. That he was treated better than most slaves. The other slaves in the household hated him for the care he got from the owner.

Even after he'd been sent to Skys Reach, every win earned him a decent meal. Though, he learned fast, that acts of rebellion weren't tolerated. His owner left him for two weeks with just bread to eat after participating in a slave revolt. Most of the slaves had been executed in the grounds with animals released to devour them. The first fight after those two weeks, he'd slaughtered the other man in ten seconds, knowing that there'd be a hot meal in his cage.

The guards encouraged this. It kept him docile enough to allow them to rape him. They threatened to take away those meals. They didn't care if he killed the other slaves.

Then, he was sold. Being a gladiator in the pits didn't change. But his meals did. The owner no longer cared about treating him well. Once he realized that, he stopped the guards from raping him. What incentive did they have over him anymore? The chains and magic canceling handcuffs stopped from leaving but there was nothing else they could take from him.

Despite all that, he didn't think that they'd broken him. Or maybe he'd always been broken. It was hard to tell when he honestly didn't remember a life before being a slave. That was until he'd heard the voices.

The first sounds he'd heard was a man grunting. That wasn't unheard of. The sound of a woman taking pleasure from it. That was unheard of.

 _"_ _Percy, there. Yes!"_

"Um…hello?" Eagle asked.

 _"_ _Bampás, go away," the female said._

"Not sure who bampás is but-"

 _"_ _Gamó. Percy, stop. Who's there?"_

"Um…they call me the Dark Eagle. Well mostly I'm called Eagle."

 _"_ _You're speaking aloud, aren't you? Try just thinking what you want to say."_

 _Can you hear me?_

 _"_ _Yes, I can. Percy, go get my parents."_

 _Where are you? Where did he go?_

 _"_ _He went back to the celestial realm to get my parents. We're celestial spirits. Are in the gladiator pits?"_

 _Yes._

 _"_ _Then we're below you. My mother committed a crime. Because our keys only work if a mage is contracted to all four of us, we were all punished to have our keys placed in a cave. Skys Reach was built above it. We can hear it. The noise and the death."_

 _Some of that death came at my hands._

Eagle was silent for a minute, staring at his hands.

 _"_ _My name's Andromeda, Andy for short. That was Perseus, my husband. I'm the only one that really call him Percy. My mother is Cassiopeia, but nobody calls her Cassi to her face. And my father is Cepheus."_

 _You're telling me that even though I just told you that I've killed people?_

 _"_ _Yes. I have too. My job is to protect whoever holds my key."_

 _You're a slave?_

 _"_ _Under some mages, yes. Others, no. It's complicated."_

 _"_ _What is so important that you insisted that I come to your sex cave? As if I didn't-"_

 _"_ _Mitéra, meet Eagle," Andromeda said, interrupting her mother._

 _Um…hello?_

 _"_ _That's not possible," Cassiopeia said._

 _"_ _That's what I was thinking. Only an archangel should be able to communicate with us like this. But there hasn't been one in centuries."_

 _"_ _A few of Galafriel's lines remain. They could've spawned one but-"_

 _"_ _But what?" Andromeda demanded._

 _"_ _The Pradesh baby. We sensed the possibility at the time."_

 _"_ _Until he died with his mother. Surely, we'd have sensed him before now, right?"_

 _"_ _Not necessarily. The only reason we knew at the time was her keys sensing it in him," Cassiopeia said. "Do you have wings?"_

 _Is she-?_ Eagle started to ask.

 _"_ _Yes," Andromeda answered._

 _Yes, I have wings._

 _"_ _If he can hear us-" Andromeda slipped into a language that Eagle didn't know. Her mother continued in that language as well. "Eagle," Andromeda said, "we need to head back and find some way to free you. Please, be c- Please survive."_

*.*.*

That had been two months ago. Long enough ago that he'd been convinced he made it up. Or actually was going insane.

 _"_ _Eagle?"_

 _Andy?_

 _"_ _Yes. Hi. I'm sorry. Time moves differently in the celestial realm. How long has it been?"_

 _"_ _Around two months. I don't really keep count."_

 _"_ _I'm sorry. I think I know what your name is, though."_

 _What? What is it?_

 _"_ _We think your Zen Pradesh. Your mother was Ganier, a celestial mage. One of the good ones. Her spirits often cared for her older son and we think that you were conceived while she held that gate open. That reacted with the recessive archangel magic in your father-"_

 _Archangel?_

 _"_ _Yes. It's a lost magic. It's why you can communicate with us like this. You're a bit of a late bloomer though."_

 _What do you mean?_

 _"_ _Most archangels would have come into their full powers by now. You should have heard us years ago."_

 _Oh. What is your mother doing?_

 _"_ _Driving Vasiliá mad. Better him than me, for once. She's trying to secure the Heartfilia mage. She's well-known for being kind and powerful. Mitéra has tried a few times but Vasiliá always turned her down."_

 _What's the catch?_

 _"_ _She's currently training to be Draco's slayer. He says she's not ready and needs to train longer. I must go, but I'll try not to take so long getting back this time."_

*.*.*

For three weeks, Zen reveled in knowing his name. He didn't tell anyone. He didn't want anyone to take the keys away. To take away his small bit of relief. To try to take his name from him.

 _"_ _Zen?"_

 _Andy? I was worried._

 _"_ _I'm sorry. Mitéra changed tactics and got Aquarius on board. Aquarius has served the Heartfilia family for generations and is keen to get back. She's… Well, she's terrifying. Anyways, she's working on finding us."_

 _But not me?_

 _"_ _Mitéra is worried about the panic it would cause if the spirits found out about you. Especially where you are. Besides, once she's there, your magic and hers will react to each other."_

 _I understand. I think._

 _"_ _All right. I just wanted to give you this update. I need to get back."_

*.*.*

Sporadically over the next few weeks, Andromeda and Perseus would stop by to talk to him. They'd teach him what they could about his family. All they knew, or what anyone would tell them, was Ganier had a husband and two sons. Spirits had strong confidentiality concerning their wizards.

Getting Crux to tell them about Bosco in general was easier. Especially since it looked as if Heartfilia would be staying there. The knowledge that the Acadame Celestine, something that had just been an idea before their banishment, had been built and was thriving worried Andromeda but she didn't say anything to Zen. She taught him about other lost magics. Especially dragon slaying since her future keyholder now wielded that magic as well.

 _"_ _Zen?"_

 _Yeah._

 _"_ _She's on her way. This will be the last you hear from me for a while. Once I'm contracted, we won't be able to talk like this. But you'll still probably be around her, so we can talk then. Okay?"_

 _Why can't we talk until then?_

 _"_ _Because we have to minimalize her exposure. If we're active, her magic will instinctively search us out. She'll already be doing that with yours as well."_

 _Okay._

.~*~.

"I'm still not a fan of this plan," Cristoff said darkly.

"Yes. We're aware. Thanks for mentioning," Lucy said.

Lucy and Meredy were dressed in Joyan leathers. Even as Meredy fussed with the tight and revealing clothes, Cristoff was ogling her. It was when he promised how he'd take them off her that she seemed more comfortable in them.

Vander had Void jumped to the ground and stolen the clothing while the intercept briefly hovered. He'd been with Farron to enough diplomatic sessions with the Joyans that he knew what was worn. The fashion was meant to remind anyone, lest they forget, that they were women. It also kept men from impersonating a woman. The skirts were short with tight, stretchy shorts underneath. The leathers were designed to cup breasts like a bra with just enough cleavage that it couldn't be faked.

"Open, gate of the hunting dogs! Canes Venatici!" Lucy giggled as the two dogs nuzzled her. "You have a shadow form, right?"

 _"_ _Yes."_

"Can you please find the keys while we're in the coliseum?"

 _"_ _Yes."_

"Thank you."

The two canines disappeared from sight, but she felt their presence as they left the inn they were staying at to walk up to the coliseum. Despite the fact that so much revenue came through Skys Reach, it had obviously seen better days. It was three stories of archways made from crumbling stone.

"Joyans?" one of the guards said when the group approached.

Lucy sneered at the man. "Yes. We're here-"

"Ah. Hello. You must be Ashley," another man said. He was better dressed in black pants and a purple vest with jewelry showing off his wealth.

"Yes."

The man didn't try to shake her hand or touch her. According to Farron, who'd spent their entire flight giving them pointers on Joyan nobility over comms, the women rarely touched a man unless she meant to keep them. The men that worked with them in Pergrande would know that to touch them if they weren't certain they could take them down was a death sentence.

"So you're here to purchase?"

"Yes," Lucy answered.

"May I ask why? You have such fine specimens as it is." The man reached out to grope Cristoff's groin only to find that Meredy had a dagger under his chin.

"Because our queen is interested in our men and we don't want to share," Meredy said.

"We're looking for someone to interest her _away_ from our men," Lucy said, looking uninterested in the fact that there was a fine trickle of blood coming from the man's neck.

"We definitely have some men that would satisfy her interests. We've prepared seats for you to watch the fights from."

Lucy glanced at Meredy who lowered her knife before giving the two dogs a nod when the man turned his back.

Lucy couldn't decide if the box that the man led them to was good or bad. There was already a fight happening so the view was excellent. However, it was close enough that the stench of the slaves unwashed bodies reached them. As well as the excrements the bodies released after death. It was private though.

"Will you be staying with them?" the man asked, looking at Bickslow and Erik with unabashed interest.

"Yes, they will," Lucy said.

"Can't they answer for themselves?"

"We're not paying them to talk. We're paying them to ensure that you don't stab us in the back," Lucy said. "Now, leave."

"You know, Tink, Scary Lucy's kinda hot," Erik said as soon as the man was gone.

"Thanks. But be quiet."

They'd agreed that the men would be mute. Vander and Cristoff were playing the role of Joyan pleasure slaves while Erik and Bickslow were dressed as Pergrandians. Try as they might, neither could maintain the Pergrandian accent with a straight face. Meredy was sitting in Cristoff's lap, encouraging her statement about being possessive while Lucy sat next to Vander, leaning against him. She wasn't paying attention to the fights but felt Vander stiffen.

"What?"

"The Dark Eagle. I've heard about him on some of my other jobs here."

The man that came out was nearly naked. His mahogany hair was pulled back and his eyes were dark. However, Lucy and Cristoff both gasped as their keener senses saw what the others didn't.

Erik stepped from the back and looked at the fight. "Fuck," he muttered.

"He looks like-" Cristoff said.

"Yeah. How is that possible?" Lucy asked, looking at the other slayer.

"I don- Oh gods."

"What?"

"What if he didn't die?"

 _Kaleb?_

 _Yeah._

 _Loop me in with everyone._

She heard everyone chime that they heard her.

 _I think Zen's alive. I think we're looking at him,_ Cristoff said.


	27. Chapter 27

**I own nothing.**

 _What do you mean, you think Zen is alive?_ Arman demanded.

 _The Dark Eagle. He looks too much like Farron not to be him,_ Cristoff said, wishing Kaleb could pluck the image from his mind but the connection was too stretched.

"Has anyone caught your eye?" the man asked, stepping into the box.

"Yes. How much is the Dark Eagle?" Lucy asked.

"He's not for sale."

"Everyone's for sale for the right price." She leaned in close. "Even you. Not that I'd bother to pay to take you." Her eyes glanced over him as her threat lingered. "If you won't tell me how much, then who owns the Dark Eagle? I'll make the arrangements without the middle man."

"He's owned by the king's brother."

"Hm." Her eyes were cold. "That'll do. You can go now."

The man scurried away.

"Can you teach me how to do that?" Meredy asked.

"Fuck that. Teach me," Erik said. "He looked ready to piss his pants."

She scrunched her nose. "I think he did."

 _You're not planning on buying my son, are you?_

 _No. I just wanted to know who we needed to visit,_ Lucy replied. She felt the dogs join them in the box.

"Come on. We got what we needed."

 _I think we should bring a hundred mages,_ Kaleb said.

 _No. Family and the rest of our respective teams,_ Lucy refuted as they walked out of the coliseum.

 _Why so few?_ Meredy asked.

 _I don't want anyone getting caught between Emi and me tearing this shithole down. We'll have five dragon slayers. I've spent my entire career watching how much damage one can do, we've got this._

Emzadi giggled and Laxus barked out a laugh. In the background of the link, the sounds of Kaleb, Farron, and Arman preparing for war could be heard. As they passed a stand, Lucy bought a map of the city.

The city would've been nice, if not for the coliseum. The streets were clean and busy. The castle overlooking it was impressive. At face value, it looked normal. The signs for the slave markets were vague and easily hidden for delegations from countries like Bosco or Fiore. The women, even some of the wealthier ones, all looked downtrodden and showed signs of abuse or neglect.

They got into the apartment they'd rented in the city center. A house might have had more privacy, but none wanted to risk a repeat of Ganier's death.

"Farron, where does the brother live? We have a map," Cristoff asked.

 _His residence is technically off palace grounds. There's a mansion south-east of the palace._

"I see it," Vander said, circling it on the map. "That's a large property. It'll give us some sound coverage."

 _Yes. That was deliberate. There's rumors that he enjoys some deviances._

"What qualifies as a deviance in Pergrande?" Meredy asked.

"Enjoying sex with women is one," Vander said.

 _Don't get side-tracked,_ Kaleb interrupted. _Lucy? Cristoff? Do either of you have a plan?_

"Yeah. Most of one anyways. How long will it take you to get here?" Lucy said.

 _We're flying straight there so around sixteen hours. Around dawn._

"I want to give any slaves that want it a chance to flee," Lucy said.

"Lucy, do you remember Chimera's Roar?" Meredy asked.

"The dark guild that my team went to deal with only to find out you got there first? Vaguely." There were a few chuckles from the Fiorians who'd been in that situation with Crime Sorciere before as well.

"We used fireworks to distract the guards and get the hostages out. That way we didn't hurt anyone."

 _Do you two remember how to rig them up again?_ Kaleb asked.

"Yeah. We'll just need supplies," Erik confirmed.

"Okay. Vander, you get them what they need. We'll plant them tonight," Lucy said.

"We as in the group or as in you and Van?" Cristoff asked.

"Me and Van. Meredy, Erik, Bix are going to deal with the brother. Cris, head back to Bellum and get the intercept. Van can only Void jump with one person, so it'll be the two of us. It'll give us a chance to plant the bombs and retrieve the keys."

 _Do you know where they are?_ Kaleb asked.

"Yes. They're underground but Canes Venatici can get me close and Virgo can dig down. We'll also build some tunnels down there. Once the keys are removed, I'm willing to bet the structural integrity of the cave will collapse."

"Why are you sending my mate without me?"

"Because she's the best interrogator. Erik and Bix will be able to detect lies. I want to know if he bought Zen, understood?"

"Yeah."

 _You have your marching orders. Kaleb, make the plan for those you're taking with you,_ Arman said.

 _Yes, Dad._

 _Lucy,_ Kaleb said once she knew that everyone else was no longer connected. _Please be careful._

 _I will be. See you tomorrow._

*.*.*

"This place is creepy at night," Lucy muttered as she and Vander waited for the next shift change. They'd spent most of the afternoon tracking the guards' shift changes.

"It's not during the day?"

"No. It's just repulsive then."

Lucy was in Gemini's star dress. With the exception of maybe Scorpio's, the star dress covered the most, even if she looked like a jester. It was her best stealth outfit though.

"It's time. Let's go."

Vander jumped them into the first level of the coliseum where Lucy summoned the hunting dogs.

"Caroli, you're with me. Superba, stay with Vander."

Before they'd had the chance to split up, a guard found them.

"What are-"

Before he could finish, Lucy had unfurled her rantai then wrapped it around the man's neck. She didn't hesitate to snap it but did to touch him and allow herself to take on his appearance.

"This is gross," she said, looking at herself.

"You didn't hesitate," Vander said. "I can't decide if I'm a good influence or a bad one."

"Both," she said, poking his side before disappearing down a different corridor.

Meredy had said to place the explosives in solid areas to limit unintentional damage. Her steps echoed down the stone hallways, so she placed a few of the ones that Erik had said were louder, so the noise would reverberate.

 _"Here's the cave,"_ Caroli said, pawing at the ground.

"Open, gate of the virgin! Virgo!"

"Princess?" she asked with what passed as confusion on her generally apathetic face.

"Yes. I'm in Gemini's star dress."

"Of course. I can sense them." She drilled down then reappeared. "I reached the cave, but I couldn't enter. Punishment for my failure?"

Lucy reached over and flicked her nose before shaking her head at the blissful look on Virgo's face.

"Thank you, Princess." The spirit disappeared to make the other tunnels as Lucy dropped down the hole.

She felt the resistance of her ancestor's spell. Part of her wished there'd be an apparition or test, but it seemed like it just wanted to confirm that the celestial mage retrieving the keys was female.

The four keys rested on pillows on an altar in the center of the cave. When she reached for them, her hand was shocked away. A form appeared. While she knew that the Heartfilia genetics were strong, she underestimated how strong until she was looking at the projection of Anna Heartfilia.

"Welcome," she said. "While you passed the first test, finding this place, and are female, I must protect the keys from those that would harm them. In this place, a spirit may end their contract if they wish and the key will disappear from your possession. Only a spirit with which you are contracted, may retrieve the keys."

"Open, gate of the lion! Leo!"

"Hello, Lucy." His eyes widened when he saw Anna. "I forgot how hot she was."

"Loke," Lucy admonished. "Please, just get the keys."

"I, Leo the Lion, leader of the Zodiac, declare Lucy Heartfilia worthy of the keys."

Anna smiled. "Thank you, Leo. May your stars ever shine bright." Anna and the golden cloud over the keys disappeared.

"You know, I wish Karen had followed through with her attempts to find these keys. It would've made things easier," Loke said, looking around. "You should drop the star dress. I can feel you running low."

"All right. Thank you, Loke."

Loke disappeared and she touched Virgo's key to send her back as well before sending Gemini back. She sighed, feeling the weight fall off. The only spirits still out were Canes Venatici. Even her dragon refused to return. Looking around the cave, she realized that she didn't know how to get back up.

 _Superba, can you bring Vander to me, please?_

She had to wait a few minutes before she heard Vander's laughter.

"Get stuck?"

"Shut up and help me, please." Lucy watched as a shadow dangled down.

"Grab on."

"You sure?"

"All of my weapons and my clothes are shadows. You'll be fine." She sighed and grabbed ahold of the shadow, holding tight as he pulled her up. "See? That wasn't so bad."

"How do your clothes not disappear when you're in magic cancelling cuffs?"

"That's what you're wondering?" he asked as he helped her place the last of her fireworks.

"Well yeah."

"As long as they're already on, the cuffs can't make them disappear. Now, if I was cuffed naked, I wouldn't be able to summon them to clothe myself."

"Hm. Can you put me on the roof?"

"Yeah." He Void jumped them onto the roof of their inn. "Why did you want to be up here?"

"I used too much magic. I need to soak up some starlight. Especially before tomorrow."

"I wish we could save him tonight."

"You know why we can't. One mess up and we could all end up dead or slaves."

"If I'd tried once to get into Skys Reach-"

"No. Don't do that to yourself. There was never a reason for you to risk your life doing a mission here. It's luck or fate that we were here now."

Vander chuckled. "That's some Kaleb level wisdom."

"Yeah. He rubs off on me. Don't tell him that."

 _He doesn't need to. That ring keeps us connected._

 _You couldn't have told me that ages ago?_

 _It_ is _a Promise ring._

She could hear the teasing in his tone. _Bite me_

 _When we get home._

She blushed and smiled. It was the first time she'd truly considered White Sea 'home'. Or maybe it was just that he was.

*.*.*

It amazed Meredy that the man was cheap enough to believe that his slaves would lay down their lives to protect him instead of hiring guards. Instead, most parted as soon as they saw the blades of light hovering around Meredy. Some even pointed in the direction of Kasret.

He was lying in his room naked. Like many Pergrandian noblemen, he was heavier set but with just enough definition to show there was some muscle beneath the flub. He was pale and brown hair was cut short.

"Hello, Prince Kasret," Meredy said a dark grin. "Bix, the door. Are we interrupting?"

"I think we are," Erik said.

"What do you want?" Kasret asked.

"I've always wanted a pony," Meredy said. "What about you?" she asked turning to look at Erik, knowing that he was watching Kasret.

"Harvati venom."

"My brother can get you that," Bickslow chimed from beside the door.

"Really? We'll have to see about that later."

"More immediately though," Meredy said, turning back to Kasret, "I want to know who you bought the Dark Eagle from."

"I don't know what you're talking about."

Meredy gestured for one of her swords to go through him. Bickslow, who had never seen her magic, gawked as Kasret screamed out.

"Now, here's how this is going to go. You're going to die tonight. That's a given. Whether it's fast or slow, painful or painless- that's all up to you. And before go into the spiel about how your brother will avenge you, there won't be a mark on you. The swords go straight to your pain receptors. You'll scream in agony until you go into shock.

"So, back to my question: who did you buy the Eagle from?"

"He's dead. I killed him myself. He said Eagle was well-trained."

"Cobra?"

"He's telling the truth. Eagle nearly killed Karadin, the king."

"Shame that he wasn't successful," Bickslow said darkly.

"That'll be dealt with later," Meredy said. She gestured for half the swords to strike Kasret who writhed in silent pain. Then, she glanced up when Erik put a hand on her shoulder. There were two tears at the ease which she tortured him.

"It's a necessary evil."

"I know. I just wish it didn't come so easily," she said with a sigh.

"He's not screaming," Bickslow commented.

"One of the swords paralyzed his vocal chords."

"I don't know why you asked L-Cosplayer to teach you to be scary. You're terrifying."

"Yeah, but she can do that _without_ magic." Meredy gestured for the rest of the blades to strike him and he fell still.

"Is he dead?" Bickslow asked.

"I don't hear his heartbeat anymore so probably," Erik said.

"The body can't handle that much pain. It goes into shock with then stops the heart."

"Can you do that with pleasure receptors?"

"I've been meaning to try with Cris but haven't yet. If you annoy me, I'll try with you first. That way, if I screw up-" She shrugged.

"Terrifying woman," Erik said affectionately.

"I try." She walked over and checked his pulse. "He's gone. Let's get out of here."

The three walked out. The slaves, once they found out they were free of him, heaped the praises.

"What do you want us to do?" one asked.

"In the morning, get everyone and anything you want and burn this place to the ground," Erik said.

"Yes, sir," he said, nodding.

"I like being called 'sir,'" Erik said.

"Would you like me to suck you, sir?" Bickslow said into his ear.

"Knock it off. We don't have time for that tonight. Tomorrow's going to be insane."

"She's right. We'll finish that when we get back to Bosco."

.~*~.

 _ETA: Thirty minutes._

 _We're in position… See you soon._

-.-.-.-

Zen was in his cage when the first explosion went off. It didn't shake the building, but it was loud. Other gladiators said they could see bright flashes of light. Sensing Andromeda had come so naturally that he didn't know how to search her out.

"They actually did it," he breathed as he watched the guards scramble. The gladiators that weren't slaves, that volunteered, were released to help defend the coliseum.

-.-.-.-

"You know, that's more than I was expecting," Lucy said, kissing Kaleb quickly as additional mages beyond the dozen she'd expected ran off the airship.

Kaleb was staying on his ship while Farron moved to pilot the intercept. They both planned to hover above to coordinate the attack. Arman had reluctantly agreed to stay behind in Bosco to untangle what would inevitably be a diplomatic mess. He'd also, grudgingly, said not to kill Karadin.

"Yeah. They're strictly on slave duty."

"I want only the dragon slayers with me to deal with the gladiators," she said, kissing him one more time before joining the fray.

Lucy had noticed the bracelet that Bickslow had started wearing but hadn't thought much of it. Boscan men wore a lot of jewelry in general. That's until she saw him tear the charms off. They grew into full sized totems.

"Damn, that's cool."

"Xally's idea with some help from R and D," he said, laughing Pipi nuzzled Lucy.

"Come on. We've got some mayhem to create."

Joined by Vander, the four started tearing through the guards.

"Lucy," Vander yelled. She caught the tossed shadow sword and stabbed it through a guard before it disappeared and grabbed the guard's blade.

While she still struggled to teleport, she'd gotten good at using her short jumps and the meteor spell in combat. She caught one guard as he was headed towards Erik.

"Tink, I had that one," he complained.

"Sorry." She felt Virgo's key warm up on her hip. _Kaleb, tell everyone that the west wing of the coliseum is collapsing in ten and to get out now._

 _Understood._

 _We've got the sex slaves out,_ Lucy heard Emzadi say. _South wing is clear._

 _Be careful of the west wing but start demolition,_ Farron said.

Lucy and Vander split off from Bickslow and Erik.

"Where are we?" Vander said. He looked over the railing. "Shit. We went the wrong direction."

"You know, we should've taken a tour of this place," Lucy said, running down the pathway, trying to find stairs down.

"We could jump."

"I can't fly. Can you?"

Two guards found them. She realized that they must've heard them from downstairs.

"Go! I've got them," Vander ordered.

She dodged past them, kicking the one that tried to follow her.

"Open, gate of the lion! Leo!" When Loke appeared she said, "Get the slaves out. I'm going for Zen."

"Got it."

She skidded to a stop when she found Zen. It wasn't so much that she saw him, but that she felt him. Her magic tugged her to a stop. For a moment, she just stood there staring at him.

"I…um." She shook her head. "I'm Lucy. I'm your rescuer today. Thuban," she cast, creating a small star in her hand and dropping it onto the lock.

She'd just opened the cage when a guard came running at her. On her other side, a gladiator whose desire to kill Zen trumped his need for freedom attacked. She felt the sharp pain of the guard's blade nicking her as she shifted out of the way and into the cage.

Zen's eyes focused on the injury. Between his anger that she'd been injured while trying to get him out and the instinctive pull of his magic towards hers, he could stop his wings. His magic surged beyond what the magic cancelling cuffs were meant to contain and broke off.

When Vander stepped out of a shadow, the magic billowed at him. The feathers shot out like a porcupine's bristles as he moved to protect Lucy.

"I'm a good guy!" Vander said, Void jumping out of the way.

"Zen, stop!" Lucy yelled. Zen's magic pushed against her like being submerged in the ocean. It was suffocating. Her ears popped.

"He's an archangel! Turn off the dragon!" Loke screamed.

She'd barely heard him but did as he said. Suddenly, the pulsing stopped, and the arm wrapped Lucy relaxed. The man's expression had turned into what Lucy could only describe as puppy dog adoration.

"It's okay. No one's going to hurt you," Lucy said, never looking away from Zen. "Van, can you get Emi here? I think it'll be easier if someone jumped us to one of the airships."

"She's on her way."

 _It's taking too long,_ Lucy thought, not caring that Kaleb could hear her. Instead, she focused on his magic and, still holding onto Zen, jumped.

"Lucy!" Kaleb said when she appeared on the deck of the airship.

Her eyes were wide and apologetic. "I messed up," she murmured, lifting her hand away from the bloody gash in her abdomen and falling forward.


	28. Chapter 28

**In my defense, I did warn you that I was an asshole.**

 **I don't own the Pradesh family or FT.**

When Lucy collapsed, Zen dove down to cover her. His teeth were bared and growled when Kaleb tried to approach. Having seen his attack through Vander's eyes, Kaleb put him to sleep so that he could get to Lucy. Two of the mages that had already returned to the ship carried Zen to the med-bay, but Kaleb wasn't paying attention to them.

Her clothes were soaked through. Her breathing was shallow and fast. He couldn't find her pulse. One of his hands was pressed the gash but it was deep and wide. The other was leaving bloody streaks on her face.

 _Cris! It's Lucy._

 _I'll be- Shit! Meredy._

Instead of Cristoff, Laxus appeared. He slid next to Lucy.

 _I can't find her heartbeat._

"That's because it's not there. Let her go," Laxus said.

 _What?_

"The electricity will fry you if you don't let her go."

Once she was on the ground, Laxus pushed a bolt of electricity into her heart. Followed by a second one when her heart didn't start.

"Come on, damn it. Don't you dare die, Lucy," Laxus said, barely keeping his composure.

Kaleb was struggling to focus. He could sense Lucy fading. When Monoceros appeared, he almost sent her back. Lucy couldn't afford to use the amount of magic the spirit used when she summoned herself.

"She can't afford to have you out," Kaleb choked.

"I know, but if I don't, she will die." The spirit had waited for as long as she could, but the situation seemed too dire.

On the ground, Meredy was shoved into the path of the structure failing started by the west wing's collapse. She was conscious but trapped.

 _Cris!_

Kaleb almost told Laxus to stop. The beeping electronics telling him that Laxus's electricity was wreaking havoc with them as he pulled power from them to keep defibrillating her heart. Despite that, her heart was only lasting a few beats before stopping again. It was only Monoceros's healing magic that allowed them that much. Even Cristoff couldn't raise the dead. He didn't tell Laxus to stop because he couldn't.

Lucy's magic was wrapping around her keys. Trying to hold onto her contracts which would be voided on her death. Monoceros loved her for that.

"Mr. Kaleb, may I borrow your magic?" Monoceros said. Kaleb held out his hand unquestioningly.

Laxus was still using his magic to keep Lucy's heart beating while Monoceros used Kaleb's Immaculate Light to channel the magic that Lucy was lacking into keeping her mostly stable until Cristoff arrived.

Emzadi had shoved Cristoff away from where he was digging his mate out. She could handle it, but their queen needed a healer.

When Cristoff appeared on the deck, he could smell the poison and already festering infection. Both Laxus and Kaleb were halfway to accepting that Lucy was gone. That thought nearly stopped Cristoff from reacting. His magic, even the healing mists, were wrapping around Lucy instinctively.

There was too much damage for Monoceros to deal with on her own. The unicorn was meant for poison, magic, and the occasional broken bones. Lucy's magic wasn't strong enough. Not focused enough.

If they lost Lucy… Cristoff glanced at his brother. The lacrima in his choker was pulsing and he was no longer projecting his thoughts as he struggled to reign in his emotions. Lucy wouldn't begrudge Cristoff the fact that he'd gone to protect his mate first. That he'd been so focused on Meredy that he hadn't recognized the shooting pain of his bond with Lucy. He'd hate himself though.

Ba-bump.

The sound was subtle. Laxus, who was still hyper focused in search of the sound, noticed it first.

Ba-bump. Ba-bump.

The sound was followed by a soft sigh. That, Kaleb heard.

"Lucy?" he murmured, stroking her hair out of her face.

"She's going to be out of it for a while," Cristoff said.

Monoceros returned to her realm as soon as the poison had flushed from her system. It turned the slayer's mist a noxious orange color. By that time, Vander, Bickslow, and Erik had arrived. Erik inhaled it and became a giggly drunk that Bickslow steered out before the stressed lightning dragon slayer electrocuted him.

Despite being a little shaky on his feet, Laxus didn't hesitate to punch Vander. "I said, unharmed." He put off punching Cristoff until Lucy was stable and in the med-bay. By that time, Emzadi and Meredy were both aboard as well.

Once everyone had returned to the two ships and they were in the air, Kaleb settled next to Lucy and listened to the music of her mind. When he was stable enough to trust himself, he reached out to his family.

Vander had requested pleasure from one of the mages Kaleb had brought. With the exception of his sisters and Farron, his siblings were seeking comfort with their significant others. Xally was on the intercept working the med-bay while flirting with a mage who broke his arm.

Emzadi was giggling at Laxus who was fielding calls from Wendy and Gajeel. The kinship bond, strengthened by the fact that Lucy was a queen, had reverberated back to them. Kaleb wondered if the other slayers would end up in Bosco. It was fortunate that Natsu didn't know where Lucy was. Lucy's thoughts concerning him were kinder than Laxus's.

Between Vander's memories of Zen's reaction to Lucy and his own, Kaleb and Cristoff decided to keep Zen asleep when he'd started to stir. They weren't sure what he was capable of but the Saberfox had stronger defenses from the outside than the inside.

 _How's Lucy?_ Arman asked.

 _Stable. Cris says she'll recover but…_ He sighed, not wanting to think about how close he'd come to losing her.

 _She's a fine woman. How's Zen?_

 _Sleeping. Cris is keeping him asleep. He attacked Van to protect Lucy. And me when she teleported on board. It's safer to keep him asleep as long as Lucy is unconscious._

 _I understand. I can't even begin to imagine the trauma he's suffered. How much healing did Cris have to do?_

 _Dad, don't ask questions that I'm not sure you want the answer to._ Kaleb could hear Arman's pain in his silence. While he was physically fit, Cristoff noted multiple diseases that probably would've killed him within the next few years.

 _She's waking up._

Lucy felt heavy as she woke up. The comforting sensation of Kaleb's magic ceased as soon as he realized that she was regaining consciousness.

"Where am I?"

"The med-bay of the Saberfox," Kaleb said softly.

She turned her head to look at him. He was sitting next to her, looking haggard. His eyes were red, but there was an unmistakable relief in them.

 _Are we still in Pergrande?_ she asked, feeling too exhausted to even speak.

"No. We'll land in Pelerno in a few hours."

 _Zen? The coliseum?_

"I put him to sleep. Cris is keeping him that way. He panicked when you collapsed. We couldn't get him to calm down. The coliseum was destroyed. By the way, there are four irate dragon slayers aboard this craft."

 _And you?_

"I can't begin to express how I feel at the moment. I was terrified. I'm furious. I'm relieved. Meredy was in the middle of a fight. Cris was distracted. I nearly lost you." Kaleb let her into his memory of the moment.

 _I'm sorry._ She cried. In his memory, she could feel the pain of his certainty that she was dying.

"I'm going to wrap you in pillows and lock you in a tower," he said, kissing her.

 _If that tower includes you, chocolate, and lots of naughty sex things, I'm okay with that._

"'Naughty sex things'?"

 _Yup. Chocolate on you. Chocolate on me. Oo… Strawberries too._

"You nearly die, and this is how process it."

 _I've nearly died a lot. After a while, you learn to just embrace the fact that you didn't. And so, when not every inch of me hurts, I want to fuck you for at least three hours._ She smiled and reached out for his hand. _And then I want make love to you and remember why you're where I want to come home to._

He kissed her, trying to force as much passion as he could into that kiss without hurting her.

"You've spent too much time around Vander. His mouth is rubbing off."

 _Shut up and come cuddle me._

.~*~.

Zen woke up in an unfamiliar room. The bed was more comfortable than anything he could remember and he more rested than he'd ever been. It made him nervous until he felt it. Once his eyes were open, he immediately searched out Lucy who his magic told him was there, ignoring the presence of the other people in the room. She was in the back of the room, leaning against another man with long, white-blond hair.

The presence of the two men sitting close to him almost made him lash out but Lucy seemed unperturbed. He wondered if part of the reason she clung to the other man was that she was still hurt and decided that he couldn't risk hurting her further.

That was when he got a good look at the two men. There were enough similarities in the younger man to the older man that Zen knew they were family. It took longer for him to realize that he recognized those features in his own reflection.

"You're my father and brother, aren't you?"

"Yes. I'm Arman and this is Farron. These are your adoptive siblings: Cristoff, Xally, Emzadi, Bickslow, Vander, and Kaleb." Arman pointed each one out as he said their names. Arman moved forward twice then changed his mind before finally just hugging him. "It's good to have you home."


	29. Chapter 29

**Hello, my pretties. I feel like I haven't expressed how amazing you all are recently.**

"I've gotta go," Kaleb said to Lucy. "I need to make the arrangements." They were in Kaleb's room since Zen was in the guest room she usually slept in.

"I know. I'm gonna fly out with Arman. We're going to leave early enough for me to grab my uniform."

Two mages died in Pergrande. There was a memorial at White Sea before the smaller private funeral.

"Will you stay at White Sea or come back?"

"Probably come back," Lucy admitted. "Your dad asked me to stay. He's planning a family meeting concerning the nature of our magic."

"Send me the highlights?"

"Knowing you, you'll eavesdrop the entire time."

Kaleb bent down to kiss her. She hummed into the kiss and pulled herself up to wrap her legs around his waist.

 _Too long_.

 _Agreed. We should never go that long again._ He turned and sat on his bed, slowly pushing her shirt up while she unbuttoned his.

"Hey, Lovebirds. Sorry to interrupt but Thane's here," Vander said, not bothering to knock.

 _You should go,_ Lucy thought, kissing him before turning on Vander. "Didn't I tell you the last time that I was going to geld you?"

"Uh…bye."

Lucy chased after him. The two skidded around furniture and people until Laxus lifted her up.

"You nearly die, and this is what you choose to do?"

"This is the second time he interrupted Kaleb and me."

"Ah." Laxus hit Vander with a lightning bolt. "There."

"That's not nearly as satisfying," Lucy said with a pout though she'd giggled at Vander's yelp. "Why are you still here?"

"Big brother doesn't wanna leave little sis yet," Emzadi said, coming up behind Lucy.

"Aw," she said even though Laxus only grunted. She scrambled up the big man to hug him tightly. "I don't mind. Except when you get too overprotective. Like not letting me kick Van's ass myself. I mean, really. He's acting like I'm glass too."

"And Kaleb?"

"We'll see. I was feeling up for sex while we were still on the intercept and he turned me down."

"Can you two not talk about your sex life while you're still holding onto me like a koala bear?" Laxus asked.

"So, Emi, is he proportional?"

Her red lips spread into a devious grin. "Length is pretty good, but he's got a nice girth. Th-"

"Okay. That's enough of this conversation," Laxus said pulling Lucy off and sprinting to join Bickslow's conversation with Erik.

Emzadi and Lucy shared an amused look before erupting into laughter.

She felt the pull of his magic before she saw him. It was softer when her dragon was in place, but it was present. Her magic was weird. The ever-present tingly feeling of her celestial magic was almost painful when he was around. Her dragon was her sanity. Something she'd never thought she'd say. While it found Zen agreeable, it wanted Kaleb. The less said about her loins and her hormones, the better.

She guessed that he was in Cristoff's clothes since they were the closest in size. Even with Cristoff's magic, it would take some time for him to shed the signs of malnutrition. She honestly found him more attractive in the black pants and blue shirt than the loincloth they'd found him in.

"Hi," he said, his tone was almost bashful.

"Hi. How are you?" Lucy asked.

"I'm-" He paused as he struggled to find the right words. "I don't remember a time that I was around this many people that didn't want to kill me."

"We're family so that's debatable," Emzadi said lightly. "I mean, I think about killing Van at least once a month."

"No. I'd rather geld him," Lucy said

"And this is why they all call you scary."

"I'm not scary. Just creative." Lucy caught Zen's gaze out of the corner of her eye and grinned.

"Oh. You two are kidding."

"Yeah. Give it time. You'll understand what we mean about killing Van," Emzadi said.

"I heard my name?" Vander asked, draping himself over Lucy who elbowed him in the gut. "Fuck. What was that for?"

"Just because Laxus fried you doesn't exempt you from my wrath."

"Save me from Scary Lucy," Vander said, using Zen as a shield.

From Vander's angle, he couldn't see Zen's face, but the two women could. Zen had frozen, his face looking like it had been carved from stone.

"C'mon, idiot. Let's go see when Dad's starting this meeting of his," Emzadi said, pulling Vander away by his ear.

"Are you okay?" Lucy asked. She reached out and touched his arm. In her mind, she imagined her dragon stomping down on sparks like the pop-up game.

"I- uh. Men behind me make me uncomfortable."

She nodded slightly. While she hadn't been subjected to it while there, Lucy knew what kind of place Pergrande was. That men preferred other men for pleasure regardless of if it was consensual or not.

"Has Ar- your dad brought up taking sessions with a Sudahpah?"

"Yeah. There's one arranged for after the memorial."

"Okay. It'll get easier."

"Lucy?" Arman called.

"Coming," she replied and gestured for Zen to follow.

Everyone situated themselves in the sitting room. Like when Zen first woke up, everyone but Lucy that wasn't a Pradesh left to give them time. In the few hours since he'd woken up, they'd all seen how squirrely he became in too crowded rooms if Lucy wasn't nearby.

"We've all seen the effect your magic has on Zen and I have a feeling vice versa," Arman said, looking at Lucy who nodded.

"Open, gate of the lion! Leo!"

Loke appeared. He winked at Xally, the only safe person to flirt with in the room, only for Lucy to smack him in the back of the head. "Stop it."

"I was just saying hi." His gaze shifted to Zen. "So, you're the archangel…" He turned back to Lucy. "I know that you haven't made the contracts with them yet, but I think that you should summon Cassi and Andy. They'll have more information than me." He dug into his pocket. "Here."

He held out Aquarius's key. It didn't surprise him when she collided with him, hugging the spirit tightly before giving him a chaste kiss. "Thank you."

"I've gotta get you more keys if that the reward I'm gonna get."

Zen bristled though only Emzadi and Arman noticed.

"Both of them?" she asked, ignoring his comment.

"Yeah. Cassi was largely in charge of creating the dynamics of the archangel magic. However, it can be hard to get a straight answer out of her. Andy works like a decoder ring for her mother."

"Not Cepheus?"

"Stars, no. She wears the pants in that relationship." Loke popped back to the celestial realm. The first summoning, and two of them at that, always required the most magic.

She took the two keys off her keyring. "I call upon thee in the realm of the Celestial! I beckon you to my side at once! Pass through the gate! Open, gate of the queen! Cassiopeia! Open, gate of the chained princess! Andromeda."

Cassiopeia wore a blue-green ballgown with either an inordinate amount of petticoats or hoops. Lucy couldn't decide which. The corset pushed her breasts up, so they were on display. Perched on her auburn hair was a large, heavy-looking crown that couldn't be comfortable.

On the other hand, Andromeda reminded Lucy of when Wendy first joined the guild. She looked about thirteen with the beginnings of curves. Her strawberry-blonde hair was plaited, and her dress was similar in style to the Nirvit people. While Wendy had favored a more shapeless dress, Andromeda's was cinched around the waist but still covered her cleavage.

"You're Andy?" Zen asked. Given that he knew she was married, the appearance of the child baffled him.

"She insists on taking that form," Cassiopeia sneered.

"I know I don't have a contract with you yet, but-"

"You have a contract with us. It was made when you retrieved our keys, stupid child."

"Mitéra," Andromeda scolded. "You know why she summoned us so tell her." Cassiopeia folded her arms and hmphed. "Mitéra, either you tell her, or I will. And then you won't have the chance to defend yourself."

"As if you'd let me," Cassiopeia muttered.

"Pósa kilá malákas íse?" Andromeda said. The two women started screaming at each other in a different language.

After a minute of them yelling, Lucy dropped onto the couch. "Why can't there be such thing as normal spirits?" she asked rhetorically.

"Do you know what they're saying?" Farron asked, curious about a language he didn't know.

"I know it's Celestial, but beyond that?" Lucy shrugged. "I've heard more than a few curse words though."

"Loke?" Cristoff asked.

"Loke. Did your mother ever teach you any?"

"Just a few words here and there. What about Draco?"

"A few expletives. Like, I know Andy's called her mother an asshole three or four times now."

Lucy looked back over when she heard the chime of Cassiopeia returning to the Celestial realm. Andromeda's cheeks puffed out and she was red in the face.

"I'm sorry about that. To be honest, Zen is the first archangel I've ever met." She sat in the last seat and tucked her feet underneath her. "Around eight hundred years ago, the first contract with a spirit was made. First were the asteroidic. They are like the demons of our realm. Mostly, they're obnoxious imps. The goal was to make contracts with the constellations. They experimented. Eventually, they found the perfect combination of metals and magic. Vasiliá rewrote the stars so that our contracts with the mages of Earthland were written there. He created the keys for the Zodiac who wanted to come to Earthland but couldn't. It was a good time.

"Then the seith mages started trouble." She glanced at Bickslow who shifted uncomfortably. "They said that we had no souls so why should our contracts be honored. That we weren't human and should be treated like objects. Vasiliá feared war. As the first line of defense, he created the archangels. But he messed up. He put Mitéra in charge of the parameters of their magic.

"Vasiliá wanted them to mate. That their magic be genetic and passed down through the generations. And that they had to mate celestial mages. Mitéra added the bond. That's why you feel compelled to Miss Lucy and her to you. The bond was meant to allow a celestial mage to form multiple connections without claiming a specific archangel as a mate."

"She made them slaves to their magic?" Lucy asked.

"Yes. It would be as if the archangel was another of your keys."

"Why would she do that?"

Andromeda fidgeted with her fingers. "Mitéra doesn't like my husband. By doing this, she put spirits and archangels on a level playing field. She hadn't anticipated dark celestial mages bonding with so many archangels, especially before they came into their full power."

"Is what your telling me that my son could become a slave to any celestial mage because his magic makes it so? That this happened because your mother is a monster-in-law."

"Uh… well… yeah."

"Undo it," Arman said, his voice low and deadly.

"I can't. His magic is too settled. The best we could do was shield him and keep anyone in Skys Reach from realizing it. I'm sorry." Her dark pink eyes met his. "I'm sorry. I should go."

 _Kaleb, did you hear all of that?_

 _Yes._

"I'm going to step outside. Let you all talk," Lucy said.

Lucy found Laxus and the others in the main living room.

"Good. You're here. Deal with them."

"Huh?" she said as he shoved his l-comm into her hand. On the screen was Wendy and Gajeel.

"You're okay?" Gajeel asked. "What the fuck happened yesterday?"

"I died. It didn't stick though." Lucy squeezed herself between Laxus and Erik, not caring that she was half sitting on both of them.

"What?" both slayers squawked.

"Yeah. I was stabbed but didn't think is was as bad as it was. Then lost a lot of blood. Cris was dealing with his mate being in trouble and didn't get to me before my heart stopped. Laxus used his electricity to keep it pumping with the help of Ceros, one of my new spirits. Cris healed me and now I'm fine."

Both of her friends gawked. Erik chuckled at how blasé she'd sounded. Then again, getting kidnapped or nearly dying weren't that new to her.

"Gajeel says you're a queen now. But that means you're a dragon slayer."

"I told you that, Kid."

"But how?" Wendy asked.

"I met a dragon."

"Does he know where Grandeena is?"

"I can ask, but I don't think so. He didn't know where Igneel was either."

"Oh. Are you mated yet?"

"Well… no. Not yet. We haven't had time."

"So, it's not Natsu?"

Lucy balked. "No. How's Chelia?"

Wendy lit up. "She's good. She's on a job with Lyon."

"Everyone will have to come visit. We'll rent a mansion with enough space or something."

"I'd like that. I haven't seen you in ages."

"And everyone but maybe Natsu will have mates."

"Shouldn't you know who his mate is?"

"In theory, maybe. But I haven't seen him since I became a slayer, so I have no idea."

"I gotta go. Tell your mate that I appreciate the mages," Gajeel said gruffly.

"Kaleb. His name is Kaleb. But I will." He signed off and Wendy's face filled the screen.

"I should go too. I have a training session with Jura today," Wendy said.

"Jura? Am I gonna have to kick his ass?" Laxus said.

"I'm pretty sure that only Kaleb could take him but okay," Lucy muttered, ignoring Laxus's glare.

"His earth magic is resistant to my air. It was Chelia's idea. She said it really helped her when she first joined the guild. Bye, everyone." She waved at the screen.

"Bye, Wen."

After Lucy hung up and handed the comm back to Laxus, Meredy turned to her and asked, "Are they mated?"

"Hm? Yeah."

"I didn't know two females could be," Erik commented.

Lucy shrugged. "Two men are more common, obviously, but I don't see why two women couldn't be. They use the same magic, but Chelia is more powerful so there's plenty that Wendy can learn from her. They compliment each other which is the point of dragon slayers having mates. To keep us grounded. Think about how much easier life would have been if Acnologia had claimed his."

The door opened and Cristoff entered. He kissed Meredy's lips then Lucy's forehead. Like Lucy, he was a touchy-feely person, but it gratified Lucy to see the ease which Meredy accepted his gestures of affection towards Lucy. They all knew that he wouldn't feel the impulse as strongly when Lucy was mated to Kaleb since he was magically stronger.

"What's the verdict?" Lucy asked.

"We're all going to stay here until the memorial tomorrow. Farron and Lucy will come back with Dad and Zen. Freed, you're welcome to as well. The rest of us will cycle in and out to get him used to us."

"Okay."

"Dad wanted to see you in his office."

"That sounds ominous," Lucy said as she stood. She entered the office when he told her to come in. "Hi, Arman."

"You might as well call me Dad," he replied with a twinkle in his eyes. "I wanted you to know that I don't blame you for the situation we're in with Zen. It's not your fault."

"Thank you."

"The fact that you haven't claimed my son yet though…" His eyes lingered on the ring dangling around her neck.

"I know. We haven't had time and I wanted to ask you about that."

"You don't need to ask me for permission."

"No. I mean- I'm Fiorian and he's a Boscan guildmaster."

"I know. Being a member of White Sea gives you dual citizenship."

"I know that, but I'm a Fiorian noble."

"Oh…" Arman muttered, understanding the issue. And recognizing that it could be an issue. "Why hasn't your father disowned you?" Since Freed's father had disowned him, there had been no legal ramifications towards his and Farron's relationship.

"He legally can't. It was through my mother's titles that he built the konzern upon. Therefore, if he wanted to disown me, he'd have to buy me out of my rights to the company. Financially, he probably could, but I think he'd rather wait to see if I made an advantageous marriage first."

"I'll see what I can do on the legal side."

She smiled. "Thank you."

Arman walked over and engulfed her in a hug. "No. Thank you. You brought my son home," he said softly.

 **Andy and Cassi are speaking Greek. Given that most constellations are based on Greek myths, it kind of had to be Greek. The literal translation is "How many kilos of an asshole are you?" Essentially, she's asking, "Why are you acting like this?/Why are you being this big of an asshole?"**


	30. Chapter 30

**Three days. It took me three days to write this chapter. I hope it's worth the wait. Remember, reviews keep me motivated. Thank you to those that review regularly.**

 **To the new follows and favorites, hi. To my usual lovely follows and favorites, still hi. Love ya all.**

 **I don't own FT, the Pradeshes, or** ** _A Midsummer Night's Dream._** **Then again, Shakespeare is public domain so take that as you will.**

Zen wasn't listening to Kaleb's speech at the front of the hall. He felt out of place. Despite the fact that Kaleb had saved a table for him, his father, and Lucy in the back of the room, many mages were glancing back at him. It was why his father had said that he should go to the memorial. To be the example of why the two mages had died.

"Are you okay?" Lucy whispered.

He glanced down at her and tried to resist blushing at Lucy's cleavage. He'd seen breasts before. His owner had rented him out a few times to women hoping to bare his child. These were Lucy's breasts though.

The uniform was the other reason that he felt out of place in the guild. There were a few variations, but they were all roughly the same all black outfits. It made Kaleb stand out more since he was in all white and covered in jewelry. Lucy wore boots, a weirdly cut skirt with four ends, and the same jacket that all of them wore with the White Sea insignia on the shoulder.

"Yeah."

She was studying him before taking his hand briefly and squeezing it.

"Did you know them? The two mages?"

"No. Outside of your siblings and my team, I don't really spend much time with people here."

"Oh. Then why are we here?"

He felt stupid for asking the question, but her expression was understanding. There'd never been a situation for him to pay his respects to the dead. To grieve them. The closest he'd come was realizing that his family must all be dead for them to have abandoned him to be a slave. It never occurred to him that they thought he was dead.

"To pay our respects. The funeral is for friends and family." Lucy yawned and he cringed, knowing that it was his fault that she was tired.

*.*.*

 _Zen woke up screaming. That was new. He'd had nightmares but never woke up screaming. Not since before he'd been at Skys Reach. Even then, he'd have been beaten if he'd woken his owner up._

 _"_ _Zen," Lucy said, running into the room. Hers was the closest. She was sleeping in Kaleb's room since he wasn't there. Though she didn't hesitate to scramble into his bed next to him, she didn't touch him. Once she saw that he'd calmed enough, she wiped away tears he hadn't known he'd shed and hugged him. Her soft voice cooed gently._

 _"_ _I thought it was a dream. That I'd wake up and be in Skys Reach."_

 _"'_ _If we shadows have offended, think but this, and all is mended, that you have but slumber'd here while these visions did appear.'"_

 _"_ _What's that?"_

 _"_ _It's from a play. The character's saying that if the play offended the viewer, to pretend that it was nothing but a dream."_

 _"_ _Oh." He rested his head in her lap and missed her surprised look at the move. "Tell me about it. The play."_

 _"_ _It's called_ A Midsummer Night's Dream. _It's one of my favorites." She glanced up and saw Arman in the doorway._ It's okay. I've got him _, she told him._

 _Lucy proceeded to tell him the story of the play as she stroked his head. In her exhaustion, she knew she was missing pieces of the story, but he didn't call her out on any plot holes._

*.*.*

 _You're exhausted,_ Kaleb said after his speech. Now, he was talking privately to the families of the two mages.

 _I know. Zen had a nightmare. I was up with him._

 _Think you can get away for a bit?_

 _I'll try but no promises._

Zen was garnering a lot of attraction. Everyone knew that he'd been a gladiator in Skys Reach. It seemed as if most of them could decide if he was safe to approach or not.

Finally, a woman decided to try her luck. She was a busty brunette. Before approaching, she'd unfastened the jacket, so her bra was showing and her skirt had been hiked up.

"Would you like to share pleasure?" she asked, a finger softly scratching his hand.

It took him a moment to remember that Lucy had told him that was how Boscans propositioned one another. He'd been confused at why she'd felt the need to tell him that. 'You're attractive, you're new, and you're a Pradesh,' she'd told him.

Lucy didn't react to the question. Instead, she was watching Kaleb, though he caught her glancing at him out of the corner of her eye. She could feel his panic rising. Much like how she imagined Cristoff could feel her emotions.

"I'm sorry, but I don't think he's up for it," Lucy said.

The woman turned and sneered at Lucy. "Really? You're going to put your claws into another Pradesh? The guildmaster isn't good enough?"

Zen jerked back, fighting to keep his wings from appearing. "What did you say?" he hissed.

"Zen, no," Lucy said, barely reacting though the woman looked a little frightened. "While I understand your jealousy at my relationship with the Pradesh family, I think it's apparent now that it's a two-way street."

The woman left with a look that was a mix of lascivious and nervousness.

"Does that happen often?"

"Rarely so obviously. But yeah, it happens. I know about the rumors. That men and women have propositioned Kaleb because everyone's waiting for us to get together. They want a taste while they have the chance. Or a chance to steal him away." Her words were meek enough that he had to strain to hear them.

"Why doesn't he stop them?"

"How? I mean, yeah, he could use his magic, but he shouldn't. Not for something like this."

Zen touched her cheek, echoing a gesture she'd done to him. "He should if it makes you look like this." For a moment, she leaned into his hand before jerking away.

"Cris, hey." She walked up to him and said quietly, "Stay with him. I'm gonna go steal time with Kaleb."

 _Office._

 _Is this a good kind of request or a bad?_

 _It's the kind that doesn't involve clothing._

 _Good. I'll meet you up there._

Before she'd made it to the stairs, Laxus caught her. He flinched away from her glare but relaxed when she sighed.

"What is it?"

"The Grand Magic Games were this week."

"Okay?" Laxus showed her his tablet. She didn't read the article, just saw the picture that was attached to it and groaned. "I'm never getting laid," she sighed.

 _Raincheck,_ she told Kaleb as she headed to her apartment where her comm was.

 _What happened?_

 _Natsu's back._

She called Sting's office knowing that either he or Rogue would be in. "Which of you numskulls told him?" she said as soon as Rogue answered.

"Yuki. She ran into him after Princess Hisui let him go for crashing the Games. Told them that the guild disbanded. That you'd left to train."

"So, everything but the fact that I'm in Bosco and that I'm a dragon slayer."

"Yeah."

"Small blessings."

"He also took my job request."

"What was it for?"

"A last minute request for mages to deal with Avatar."

"Hisui's going all out."

"She's scared. She's afraid that Avatar will become another Tartarus. They've done enough damage." He paused then asked, "What are you going to do?"

"Call Gajeel and warn him."

"That's it?"

"I've got 99 problems but Natsu ain't one. Until the tatsu is fully formed and he decides that he wants to fight me for leadership, he's not my problem."

"What's your biggest problem?"

"The fact that it'll take three days for my mating to settle enough to pretend to be functional human beings and actually finding three days is proving to be damn near impossible."

"That qualifies," Rogue chuckled. "I'll let you go. Tell Gajeel I said hi."

"Will do." She called Gajeel next as she moved to sit on her bed. "He's back."

"I know," he grunted. "I saw the newspaper. I tried to quit and walk out but Levy wouldn't let me."

"Hi, Lu!" she heard Levy yell in the background.

"Tell her I said hi. He's coming your way."

"I figured. You're a trouble magnet but he goes looking for it. I think that's why he liked keeping you around. That and you put up with him."

"Yeah, yeah. Remember, don't tell him where I am."

"I know. Here. Levy wants to talk to you."

"Lu, have you mated yet?"

Lucy coughed. "Thanks for the preamble. And you know I haven't. There hasn't been time."

"Okay. But be careful. I've been reading about dragon matings and the books say that the female slayer can go crazy if she's around her mate without claiming him. Especially if they've had sex."

"I'll keep that in mind but we both know that there needs to be time between the setting of the two bites. I might be able to get away with only a day since Kaleb is so powerful, but I'd rather not risk it."

"Like I said, be careful, Lu. See you soon, probably."

 _You can come in now_. She didn't move from her bed as Kaleb walked into her room.

"I'd rather have you here anyways. Told Dad to leave without you. I'll send you back later." She sent him a memory of him between her legs, eating her out. "I can start with that."

.~*~.

It had been three days since the memorial. Afterwards, Zen insisted on daily Sudahpah lessons. No one had even considered a male Sudahpah since they'd all seen how he reacted to men propositioning him.

That day was Kaleb's turn spend time around Zen. While he was in his lesson, Lucy had jumped at the chance to be intimate. Now they were headed into the second hour of his session and Lucy and Kaleb were in the sitting room playing chess.

"Rock City Boy?" Arman asked, sticking his head into the room. Seeing that they were playing chess, he walked over, curious to see who was winning, and mildly surprised to see that it was Lucy. "Ah. You're keeping him out by playing music."

"That's not music, it's noise."

"You sound like an old man…Legolas."

His eyes narrowed. "Which of them told you?"

Lucy smirked. "Bixy."

"I'm gonna kill him." He rolled his eyes when Lucy giggled.

"I was actually looking for you," Arman said, looking at Lucy.

"I can go."

"Stay. You'll probably eavesdrop anyways."

"It concerns him, too. I looked into the legality of your relationship. Normally, you'd be right. However, Bosco has laws protecting dragon slayers and their mates. Essentially, as long as you mate before you promise, you'll be fine."

"Good. Now, we just have to find three days that Kaleb is willing to leave the guild and give me his undivided attention."

"You always have my undivided attention."

"You've checked your tablet three times since we started the game."

"Yes, because you beating me, again, does not require my undivided attention."

"You might win if you did."

Arman watched the two of them bicker. He could hear both of their souls enjoying the banter. For years, Kaleb wanted someone that treated him as a person instead of the Wizard Saint or the Guildmaster of White Sea. That had been his complaint about his last relationship and why Emzadi had bet that it wouldn't last.

The impatient part of Arman was annoyed at how long Lucy had dragged out their relationship but appreciated the fact that it meant both were in love with each other.

Just as he was considering calling Cristoff, there was a short shriek followed by a crash. Lucy fumbled as she ran after Arman to the room where Zen and the Sudahpah were.

"What happened?" Arman asked, knowing that Lucy was going to Zen.

Zen was curled up in the corner with his knees to his chest and trembling. His eyes were wide, his pupils dilated, and his skin clammy.

"He's been doing well. I'm not exactly sure what triggered this reaction, but suddenly he became frightened and defensive."

"It's a panic attack," Lucy said quietly, stroking his face.

 _Can you hear anything?_

 _No. His magic protects him from me. I could force my way…_

 _No._

It took a few minutes to urge him into the bed and an hour of Lucy softly singing lullabies to lull him to sleep. Extracting herself from his grip without waking him seemed to take even longer.

By the time she did, the other Pradesh children and Meredy had arrived at the house. She wished she'd thought to use Meredy's sensory link but Cristoff apparently had.

"Adrienne said that his problem seems more about intimacy than sex," Arman said when Lucy joined them.

"Have they already shared pleasure?" Emzadi asked, sounding surprised.

"No. Adrienne is a mage. She uses a type of illusion magic that allows for the sensations of sex before becoming physical. I picked her because she works with helping rape victims overcome their trauma. She said that he'd been pushing to move faster. Today was the first time she'd actually touched him."

"Why is he trying to move so fast?" Xally asked.

"He told me that it was because he was a Boscan man but didn't feel like a Boscan man," Lucy said, chewing the nail of her thumb.

"I brought it up before," Kaleb said, rubbing circles on Lucy's hip to ease the anxiety he felt pulsing from her.

"I didn't like it before, but Adrienne said if she hadn't recognized the warning signs as fast as she did, he might have injured her," Arman said. "I'm just glad she's as dedicated to her job as she is. Otherwise, she might've refused to return."

"What exactly happened?" Bickslow asked.

"While she creates the illusion itself, it's directed by the person. Things were moving along fine- this was her first session touching him- until she felt it began to shift away from her approved illusion. She thinks feeling her touch caused him to change the direction of the illusion to the first time he'd had sex with a woman."

"What was Kaleb talking about?" Lucy asked.

"Given the potential danger his magic poses, I recommended healing the worst of the trauma," Kaleb answered.

"With magic? That seems like- I don't know- cheating?"

"The memories would still be there. He might even occasionally mourn them, but it would be as if years had passed instead of days."

"It should be his decision," Xally said.

"Agreed," Arman said. He could hear Zen crying in his sleep and watched as Lucy stood with the exhaustion of a new parent with a colicky baby.

 _Lucy, you're exhausted. Don't pretend that Mr. Elan hasn't been putting shots of espresso in your drinks,_ Kaleb said.

 _I know. I just- I don't think healing is something that should be skimmed over._

 _But there's nothing wrong with help. You seemed familiar with the fact that he was having a panic attack._

 _Yes. I've had them sporadically over the last few years. After my dad hired Phantom Lord to kidnap me._

 _I know it's tradition in Fiore, but I'm not going to need his permission to marry you, right?_

Lucy giggled as she settled down next to Zen. _I couldn't give less fucks about if my father approved or didn't so no._

 _How did you stop having panic attacks?_

 _I realized that as much of a pain in my ass my team could be, they'd go barreling into hell to retrieve me._

 _He doesn't have that. He doesn't remember being loved. Even now, he's latching onto the connection that your magic creates. And that big heart of yours. He needs helping being saved from the darkness._

She stroked his hair, watching how the lines faded from his expression. _Fine, but it'll have to wait until he wakes. Panic attacks always left me exhausted._

*.*.*

"You want to do what?" Zen asked, staring at his father.

"It would help you heal. It would be like your memories of Skys Reach and your first owner were farther in the past. They'd be scars instead of open wounds," Arman said.

It was only Zen, Arman, Kaleb, and Lucy in the bedroom. Lucy sat at the head of the bed, watching Zen's reactions with concern. Arman was in front of him at the foot of the bed. Kaleb was standing awkwardly, unsure of where he should be.

"You would change me. Change who I am."

"Or maybe reveal who you are without the need to be the gladiator. Without the need to be tough," Arman countered. "You'd still need Sudahpah lessons, but you wouldn't need to fight to grow so fast."

Zen looked at Kaleb. "Could you have done this without my permission?"

"Yes."

 _Not helping._

"I would have pissed off a lot of people, but yes I could have. The only person I can't force my way into their mind is Lucy."

Zen turned to look at Lucy. "You're immune?"

"No. He would just like to have sex again. Otherwise, I'd cut off his balls and wear them as my new earrings."

All three men flinched. "That was graphic," Kaleb muttered.

"Good."

"Do you trust him?"

Lucy met Kaleb's eyes. "With my life. Always."

Zen nodded. "Okay."

Kaleb walked over to the bed, sat down, and placed his hands on Zen's head. The room became progressively brighter until Lucy had to close her eyes. It took a few blinks for enough of the spots to disappear for her to see Zen sleeping on the bed and the door opening as the rest of the Pradesh family prepared to entire from the hallway.

"He'll be out a while."

"Long enough for us to find a secluded place to mate?" Lucy asked, her exhaustion causing her to lean against Kaleb.

"Not sure about that. Besides, I think you're too exhausted to claim me. Let's go take a nap," Kaleb said, scooping her up.

"What about-"

"Don't worry, Cosplayer. We've got him."

"Hm. Okay. How about I nap and you work on your tablet? Then we go have a night on the town?" Half of her words were mumbled as she snuggled into his chest.

Bickslow watched her leave. Her soul was settling for the first time in days. Despite the fact that the archangels were meant to be subservient to the celestial mage, that wasn't in Lucy's nature. Instead, her soul was reaching out to him, trying to heal him. When it had been his turn the day before, he'd told his dad that they needed drastic measures. Letting him take his time might have saved Zen, they'd have lost Lucy in the process.

"How is she?" Cristoff asked.

"Better. I think a couple of days without Zen and with Kaleb will do her some good."

.~*~.

"They were successful," Lucy muttered.

Kaleb was sitting against the headboard of his bed, working on his tablet. She'd propped a pillow against his thigh and was reading on her own tablet. His hand was absently stroking her hair though she'd stopped purring after that apparently aroused him. They were attempting to pretend to be productive adults.

"Yes." He sent her the official report from the Fiorian Magic Council. "Your team is mentioned heavily. Gray infiltrated because he's a demon slayer. Erza was his handler."

"Natsu nearly blew everything. Gajeel says they moved up the plan as soon as he knew that Natsu was headed their way."

"Did all of your friends make it out all right?"

"Yeah. There were heavy casualties amongst the Rune Knights though."

"What's their next step?"

"Levy says they're rebuilding the guild." Kaleb's hand stilled in her hair. "Erza's going to be the next master but there's some talks about coming to Bosco and seeing if Laxus wants to return. He knows the paperwork better."

"Will you go back?"

She pulled his hand from her hair and kissed his palm then rested her lips against his pulse in his wrist. "No. My place is here now."

He moved to kiss her, his hand moving to her bare breast, and all thoughts of attempting to be productive fled.

.~*~.

The first full day that Zen was awake was Emzadi's day. She arrived bright eyed and bushy-tailed with pre-workout smoothies from the guild. Only halfway through her first cup of coffee, Lucy blinked uncomprehendingly at her. As soon as she fully processed the cups in front of her, a look of terror crossed her face.

"Zen, I'm so, so sorry."

Lucy didn't get far before the taller woman had grabbed her and was dragging her back into the dining room.

"Nope," she said cheerfully. "You're coming."

"But I don't need anything."

"So?"

"I still have stuff I haven't worn from the last time."

"Your point? Zen needs new clothes and I'm not taking him by myself. Besides, you've been cooped up in this house nearly as long as he has."

"Kaleb and I went dancing the other night."

"Daylight. You need to see the sun."

"I see the sun." Lucy pointed at the window. "See? Sunlight."

"Nice try."

"I'm your queen."

"Not yet you're not. Besides, I need help getting Laxus clothes."

"You're his mate."

"I know-"

"Pull a Lysistrata. Withhold sex."

"Except that means that I'm not having sex."

"Oh yeah."

Overhearing their voices, Arman walked out of his office to find them in the dining room. Zen was sitting, sipping on a smoothie with a confused expression while the two women argued.

"Ah. Did you want to use my accounts?" Arman asked.

"If you don't mind. I had to ask Cris to get us into the Elluris showrooms today."

"Elluris?" Lucy asked, perking up. She was already mentally estimating how much she could spend while still having enough to live comfortably since she hadn't taken a job in a while.

"Lucy, I'll pay."

"What? I can't let you do that."

"Emi, don't let her pay," Arman said, ignoring Lucy's sputtering.

"Just say thank you," Emzadi said.

"Thank you," she said with a bashful smile.

"Your welcome."

"So, the plan is the Pelerno showroom, followed by lunch at the guild with Xally, and then Zen has to be back here for his session."

*.*.*

Lucy was fairly certain that the Elluris showroom was heaven. Personal shoppers swooped in as soon as they entered. Before he could get nervous, Lucy requested that only female shoppers worked with Zen. That didn't stop the nervous look he gave Lucy as she and Emzadi were steered in a different direction.

It took an hour for Lucy to give up curbing Emzadi's picks. The older dragon slayer would wave her off anytime she attempted to stop her. She even smacked Lucy's hand when she attempted to look at a price tag. Once she had her measurements, Emzadi let her go check on Zen.

"You look good," she said, as he fussed with the fitted shirt.

"Thanks, but it's not me."

"And who are you?"

"I'm still figuring that out."

"Then you might as well start with some clothes that aren't Cris's." She heard Emzadi calling her name. "That's my cue."

Zen looked at himself in the mirror. "Can I get more like this?"

A few hours later when they left the showroom, Lucy felt oddly energized. She couldn't decide if Emzadi had decided to take it easy because Zen was with them or if she was developing a better stamina for shopping with her.

After deciding that she'd spent enough of her father's money, Emzadi started shopping for Laxus. The two women had their share of laughs picking out clothes and making plots to ensure that the stubborn lightning slayer wore them.

As they walked from the showroom, Emzadi found herself trailing behind Lucy and Zen and watching them interact. Suppressing the worst of his trauma seemed to have helped. He hadn't panicked like she feared he would, but she'd noticed that he appeared to stand taller when he thought Lucy was looking.

Lucy talked with her hands and was her usual self. It was Zen that was the unknown factor and the way that he still seemed to lean into her touch worried her. The dragon was wrapped around her neck like it usually was. Both Cristoff and Kaleb had commented on how the dragon moved to put emphasis on her breasts when she was trying to seduce. It acted as a sort of mood ring for her dragon's instincts.

 _We need to talk,_ Emzadi thought, directing it to the faint link she could always feel with Kaleb.

 _About?_

 _Zen and Lucy._

 _Is something wrong?_

Emzadi could nearly hear Kaleb preparing to ask Thane to teleport him to Pelerno. _Not the run to Pelerno kind. I think Zen is in love with Lucy._

 _Given that I'm in love with her too, I can't fault him his taste._

 _I'm being serious._

 _So am I. He's our brother-_

 _He's not our brother_ , Emzadi interjected. _He's Farron's brother. Arman's son. He doesn't know us well enough to call us family. Not yet._

 _He let me into his head._

 _Because Lucy said it was okay. Do you remember when Bix was first adopted? If he'd had better control of his magic, we'd all have died. It wasn't until Cris got back from his training trip with Nurem that he decided that we were okay._

Emzadi could feel him considering that for a moment.

 _And Lucy?_

 _She's herself. Honestly, I'm not sure she appreciates the affect she seems to have on him. She says the pull isn't as strong when her dragon is active. And the tattoo is perched on her shoulders._

She could hear him mentally sigh.

 _What's he like?_

 _He's got a kind of dry humor. A bit like Laxus which is probably why she gets his jokes. Still a bit skittish at times._

 _I figured he might be._

"Emi?" Lucy asked, looking up at her.

"Sorry. I was just thinking."

Lucy arched an eyebrow but didn't call her out on the lie.

"We're here," Lucy said, gesturing to the guild.

"Right. Xally wanted to eat outside."

"So, Dolares," Lucy said.

Dolares was one of the cafes attached to the guild. It overlooked a set of hand-to-hand combat training grounds. Depending on who was training, it could be full of women ogling the men or the other way around.

Xally was sitting with an iced drink and watching Vander and Presca spar. There were a few other interested women watching as well.

"Damn, I forgot how good he looked," Emzadi said as she sat down in the other seat angled towards the field.

"You're mated," Lucy chastised lightly before studying the man as well. She'd only met Presca once before. Like most mages, he worked hard to keep himself in shape and was handsome enough to turn heads despite being Vander's partner.

"So? Doesn't mean I can't look."

"Didn't you nearly set a woman's hair on fire for looking at Laxus?" Xally asked

"What?" Lucy asked.

"It was while you were in Pergrande."

"It wasn't that she looked. It was that she'd touched before we were mated and was looking for a repeat performance."

"You didn't tell him he couldn't touch," Lucy pointed out.

"He knew we were mates. It never occurred to me that he'd want to touch anyone else. I mean, Lucy, do you want to touch anyone else?" Emzadi watched Zen.

"I slept with Cris despite knowing that Kaleb was my mate. Also, I'm not Laxus. I mean, the rumors I heard about him around the guild… And that's after he knew that Mira was a potential mate."

"Yeah. Whatever," she grumbled though she was watching Zen's pensive expression out of the corner of her eye.

A waitress came over and took their orders. They were halfway through their meal when Vander plopped down next to Zen and Presca seemed to hover.

"Hey," he greeted, stealing fry from Xally's plate.

"Hey," she complained, flicking some water from Zen's glass at her brother.

Presca walked over to Xally, propped himself up as he leaned over, and looked her in the eye. "Share pleasure with me?"

"I- uh what?" Xally said while Emzadi gaped and Vander helped himself to more of her fries.

"We could just talk if you'd prefer."

"No! I mean, yes, I'd like to share pleasure. And talk." She blushed but wasn't surprised with her own reaction.

She, Vander, and Emzadi had all tried to seduce him at one point in time or another. With Vander, it had become a running joke between the two men. Emzadi had told him one night while intoxicated that she knew he wasn't her mate and so he'd rebuffed her advances.

Xally had propositioned him once. For a moment, it looked like he was considering it before turning her down. Unlike her siblings, she'd respected that, but she was Boscan. It wasn't in her nature to hide her interest. And she knew he saw it in the way her eyes lingered.

He held out his hand and the two left. Once they were out of sight, Vander moved Xally's plate in front of himself and started eating her sandwich.

"Weren't you just complaining about Laxus touching? And that was before you were mated," Lucy teased as she closed Emzadi's mouth for her.

"But- You knew, didn't you?" Emzadi sputtered.

"Yup. They kept missing each other the last few weeks though."

"Five years I've been trying to get in his pants. Five years!"

"You're still mated," Lucy said.

"I don't care. It's the indignity of it." The dragon slayer slid in her chair and sulked.

"Why did it take so long?" Zen asked.

"The Steel Council, they're in charge of clandestine operations, was threatening her to force me to work for them. Courtesy of the beautiful and terrifying Lucy, they are no more. Well, currently anyways. So now it's safe to pursue her."

Emzadi looked a little less sulky at that explanation.

"Since I'm gonna assume that they won't be leaving their beds tomorrow, you're stuck with me," Vander said.

"That's just what I need," Lucy said with a roll of her eyes.

*.*.*

Lucy was sitting opposite Zen on his bed with cards spread out between them. She was unabashedly teaching him card games with the goal of hustling Vander the following day.

"Why do you still feel the need to rush?" she asked after he'd told her about his session. She was focused on the cards in her hand and counting the cards that she missed the heated look that Zen gave her.

"Because I want to be worthy."

This time, Lucy did look up. "Of what? Of who?"

"Of being Boscan. Of being a Pradesh."

"You know, no one's rushing you to be something you're not, right?"

"I know." He reached out to the ring that still dangled around her neck. When his finger slipped into it and his thumb pressed on the stone, he could feel the faint pulse of Kaleb's magic. "This is a promise ring, isn't it?"

She smiled. "Yeah. Kaleb asked me before I left for Pergrande. I thought the timing was shit, so I turned him down. I still think it was shit timing but- Oh well. Anyways, he put it on the chain for me."

"He's your mate, right? Why do you still wear it on the chain?"

"Yes, he's my mate," Lucy said as she placed a card down. "I still wear it like this because we're not mated or promised yet. We haven't had time and I'm Fiorian so there's legal ramifications if we were to promise without mating."

"Am I the reason you haven't mated?" Zen asked, feeling hopeful.

"It's you turn. Partially. Dragon slayer mating can take one to three days for the bites to set and for the dragon slayers to be willing to allow their mates around other people. Like, the day of the memorial, there were a couple of people that propositioned Kaleb and it took everything in me not to tear them apart and that's without us being mated. I'll probably be worse once we are." She collapsed to the side dramatically. "That's gonna suck. Once he has a ring on it though."

"You have a ring and were propo-"

"-Propositioned-"

"Yeah. That. At the guild today."

"Because it's not uncommon for someone who's promised died to wear the ring on a chain like this. Also, for a more jaded reason, most people know that I'm friends with the Pradesh family so what better way to get an 'in' with the guildmaster or the head of the Pelerno branch than to woo me. It's your turn."

She looked at the card he'd put down and sat up. "You can't use this card. This an eight of spades and I put down a three of hearts."

"Oh. Right."

.~*~.

Lucy learned that Zen had a sense of humor. Yes, she'd known he did before but there'd been times that she'd wondered if he realized that he was funny. Now, sitting with Zen and Vander, she realized that yes, he was perfectly capable of being funny. It was just proving to be problematic that he sided with Vander.

"I'm gonna have to take credit for this," Vander said while Lucy gawked at the board.

"Blame. I think you mean blame."

"Blame is such a mean word."

"But appropriate when the two of you gang up on me."

"Why am I the one getting yelled at? Technically, you were playing against Zen," Vander said.

"Because he's an angel. Literally. You? You're like the physical embodiment of the demon on the shoulder."

"Hm. I think I want that on my tombstone."

"I challenge you to a duel. Mag-" Lucy was interrupted by Zen picking her up. "Hey! Put me down."

"Do you still wanna kill Van?"

"Yes."

"Then no."

Zen sat down, still holding onto Lucy while she glared at Vander. Who was smugly eating Mr. Elan's cinnamon chocolate chip cookies which is what they were betting over. Three different games where the two men had teamed up to keep her from the cookies. After a few minutes, Zen mistakenly released the no longer struggling Lucy.

Before either of them could stop her, she'd grabbed both of their ears.

"I don't care that you're bigger than me. I don't care that you were a gladiator or that you were an assassin. I will kick both of your asses. Understood?"

"Yes, Ma'am," they both muttered.

She snatched the cookies and walked off in a huff. She decided to curl up in the armchair in Kaleb's room with the plate and her tablet. Levy was keeping her updated on the rebuilding of the guild. Her father surprised her by agreeing to sponsor money towards the construction. There were a few messages from Gajeel threatening to kill Natsu. For all the destruction he'd caused when they were a team, she hadn't realized she had served as a buffer from some of his worse impulses.

 _Think Zen's ready to come to White Sea?_ Kaleb asked.

She smiled and moaned as she bit into one of the cookies. _Yes._

 _Do I want to know what just made you make that sound? Should I be jealous?_

 _Maybe? It Mr. Elan's cookies._

 _Bring some with you?_

 _Absolutely no promises. So probably not._

 **Lysistrata is my favorite Greek play. There aren't enough surviving Greek comedies. It's about a group of women from around Greece who decide to stop having sex with men until they stopped starting wars.**


	31. Chapter 31

**Hello, my pretties.**

 **We're finally seeing Rhiannon as I meant for her to appear. The first time I wrote her, I forgot to write her accent. From here on, it will be there.**

 **I don't own FT, the Pradeshes, and especially 'We are the Champions" by Queen.**

"Welcome to the obstacle course," Lucy said throwing open the doors to the training facility.

Cristoff hadn't had much use for the space so other than a few times when it had first opened, he hadn't been in it. He distinctly remembered it not having mountains though.

"What is this?" Emzadi said, looking around in awe.

"So, officially this doesn't open to the guild for another couple of weeks. We're going to be testing the space. We're beta testers," she said. "Bix, Erik, and I have been helping out the R and D team, so I got them to agree to let us in under the condition that they can record our games."

"This is amazing," Vander said, walking over to the closest pillar of rocks and touching them. "Are they real or an illusion?"

"Somewhere in the middle." By the door was a screen and a keyboard. Lucy walked over and typed a few things. Suddenly, the space changed into a jungle before she changed it back.

"This where the three of you have been disappearing?" Laxus asked.

"Yup. Cool, huh?" Bickslow said. "What were you thinking?"

"They're still having some glitches with the showdown mode, so I was thinking teams of two in showdown mode."

"What does that mean?" Meredy asked.

"Let's see: Meredy and Cris, Laxus and Emi, Bix and Erik- Ever, who do you wanna team up with?"

"I call Lucy," Zen said before she could answer.

Lucy looked at him in surprise. "Okay. Ever, that puts you with Van."

She typed in a few things and a drawer opened with wristbands. Each wristband had pulsing lacrimas of various colors. She matched the colors up and passed them out.

"There's some magic in these," Cristoff said with a frown.

"Yup. The way that the wristbands work is to one, register a tag. You have to physically touch a person. Like this." She punched Vander's arm.

"Why do you bully me?"

"You were closest," she replied with a shrug. "So Laxus can't just target everyone with electricity. Or Vander with his shadows. Once a tag is registered, the field will open up with the two teams in the middle while everyone else is on the sides. That's one of the areas that the system is glitching on with bigger groups. The showdown will last ten minutes, then everyone is dropped into various locations.

"Dragon slayers, we won't be able to teleport. Zen, I don't think you'll be to use your wings but I'm not sure. Van, you won't be able to Void jump or hide in the shadows."

"The game's a mix of tag and hide-and-go-seek," Emzadi said.

"Pretty much," Bickslow replied when Lucy shrugged.

"I've never played either of those games," Zen said.

"Yeah, me neither."

"Zen, I get. But you? That's just sad," Vander said.

"As if my father would risk me getting injured."

"Didn't your father hire Phantom to kidnap you?" Laxus said.

"Yeah… He never did explain why he'd risk that."

The group fastened their wristbands on, all of them cringing at the awkward feeling of their magic being half-suppressed, before the women and Bickslow took off into the stones.

The stones were just solid enough to be climbed on or hidden behind but if they were knocked over, they held no actual weight to them. Bickslow had just hidden in a spot when his sister found him.

"How did you-" She tapped her nose. "Right. Why are you here?"

"How's Lucy?"

"Doing better. Back before she'd acknowledged Kaleb as her mate, her celestial seemed like it created a buffer around the dragon soul. Her dragon soul is much more powerful now. Almost to the point of you and Cris, though I think hers is weaker by design. Unlike you, she can turn off her dragon slayer magic."

Bickslow glanced down and saw the lacrima fully light up, signifying that everyone was now in the playing field.

"Tag," he said, tapping her shoulder.

"Fuck you," she said as the arena shifted and the two couples ended up the arena.

The game continued for a few hours before everyone was too exhausted to keep going. As it turned out, without his shadows, Vander was abysmal at hiding. By the end, Laxus ended up carrying Evergreen up to her apartment in the guild as she dozed on his back.

"We are the champions!" Lucy and Zen were half screaming and half singing. They were the only ones to have won every round. Mostly because they managed to avoid Cristoff, Emzadi, and Laxus.

They found Kaleb and his team in the corner of the second floor of the guild that was often considered the Guildmaster's Lounge. It was visible from virtually any spot on the first floor while still being separate enough to give some privacy. Kaleb didn't sit there often unless going over mission plans or if all his siblings were going to be at the guild.

"Who won?" Kaleb asked, already knowing the answer. The others grumbled and pointed at the laughing Lucy.

"We are the champions! No time for losers, 'cause we are the champions of the world!" Lucy sang, not caring that she was horribly off-key. She held onto Cristoff's shirt as she bounced and sang. Zen was also singing. His voice was melodious but since he only had Lucy to go off of, he too was off-key.

"Hello, love," she said, skipping up to Kaleb.

He chuckled at her pleased mood. "How'd you manage to beat them?"

"A tried and true tactic: avoidance. Anytime they got close, we'd run."

"More than that. She's sneaky. She'd bait one of them then steer them into one of us. I'd be impressed if it wasn't my ass that got handed to me ten times today," Vander said.

"I'm gonna go upstairs and shower and change."

"Want company?" Kaleb asked.

"Always. I should summon Aquarius."

Kaleb tickled a particularly sensitive spot on her side making her squeal. It was the most forward he'd been in the guild. Something didn't go unnoticed by his siblings.

"C'mon," Emzadi said, nudging Zen's shoulder. "I know Cris keeps some clothes in Kaleb's suite."

A couple hours later, everyone had cleaned up and were back downstairs. Freed and Farron were sitting in the Guildmaster Lounge, acting as if they weren't essentially living together. Xally was sitting in Presca's lap. She glanced up when she felt the temperature in the room shoot up and stuck her tongue out at Emzadi.

"You're mated," Lucy reminded her. "Laxus, go dance."

"I don't dance." Lucy gave him an unamused look. "Emi, let's go dance."

Vander grabbed ahold of Lucy and Void jumped with her to the dancefloor.

"You've really gotta stop doing that," she laughed as he pulled her into dancing with him.

"Whatever. At least you don't dry heave anymore. That was unattractive."

She hit him but danced anyways. Throughout the night, she found herself dancing with everyone. Even Kaleb swooped in a few times. Particularly to rescue her from Emzadi.

Zen allowed himself to be dragged into the fray. Watching Lucy and Emzadi fight, he knew he had no option in the matter when they both grabbed an arm. Could he take them? Yes. But he wasn't willing to hurt Lucy or his sister.

Lucy looked up at him with an inquisitive expression when he'd stilled. It was the first, Zen realized, that he'd considered any of them but Farron as his siblings. He shook his head, smiling at her when he expression turned worried, and continued to let Lucy and Emzadi show him how to dance.

*.*.*

Hestor liked Saturdays at the guild, but he hadn't planned on going there that day. He'd been in Cellis but his Monday lecture was canceled so he decided to head back to White Sea for the unexpected long weekend.

He'd barely stepped into the guild when he felt the archangel magic. The stories about his reaction to Lucy on the Saberfox beat them back to White Sea. By the day of the memorial, Hestor had known that the lost Pradesh was an archangel. Had known about the subservience to celestial mages, the power boost, and immortality if they were claimed. Had known that they could sense keys and heal. The fact that when he saw the attractive former gladiator he was already imagining fucking him was just icing on the cake.

At first, he'd tried being subtle. He walked by the table a few times. Despite the fact that he knew that archangels were instinctively drawn to celestial mages, Zen never once turned in his direction. That was when he realized that Lucy was sitting next to him. Whether it was her immense power or the fact they'd known each other longer, she seemed to create a bubble around Zen that shielded him.

When she finally did leave, Cristoff took to hanging out with Zen. Some of his other siblings might not have noticed him, but Hestor knew that Cristoff was aware what magic her used. Even when his mate joined them, his attention never strayed from Zen long enough for Hestor to risk luring Zen away. He bitched to his team but accepted it.

Now though…

Lewis and Marmy were both at the guild. He found them, as he expected he would, the last privacy booth. Marmy, a beautiful, purple haired woman, looked ready to yell until she saw that it was Hestor.

"Are you joining or watching?" she asked.

"Neither. I want the archangel."

She arched an eyebrow. "Unless you're planning on sharing, I don't want any part of this plan."

"Of course, I'll share. I don't think I could handle him on my own."

"Then what do you have in mind?" Lewis asked, not pulling out of Marmy.

"Waiting and watching."

"Why?" Marmy asked.

"Because Lucy hasn't been around much and it's only a matter of time before she and Master Kaleb disappear for a while." Hestor glanced back at his teammates. "You can continue. This booth just has the best view of the dancefloor."

As he'd predicted, Lucy and Kaleb left. Before her and the guildmaster started sleeping together, he'd noticed that she only shared pleasure with bath attendants. He was glad that he was right that she wasn't willing to be so public about sharing pleasure.

Vander was on stage with Cristoff, Bickslow had disappeared at some point with his mate, Farron and Xally were both back upstairs with their men, and Emzadi had gone back to trying to dance with her mate. As Lucy got further away, Zen started looking around.

Hestor stood and walked over to the man. "Hi. Would you like to share pleasure?"

His eyes were glazed over as he answered, "Yes."

The archangel followed the celestial mage into the booth. His partners smiled. Once in the privacy of the booth, Hestor allowed himself his own predatory grin.

*.*.*

"Where's Zen?" Lucy asked when they returned to their family. They hadn't even made it to her apartment. Instead, they'd gone to his office.

While he'd gotten comfortable enough to go to the bathhouse in Pelerno with Vander, she didn't think he was up to going to the guild's on his own yet. However, she couldn't feel his magic. She dropped her dragon so that his magic would react to her more. When she felt it coming from the direction of one of the privacy booths, she frowned. She followed his magic to the booth.

"I can't tell if he likes it," one male voice said.

"Does it matter?" another replied. That voice she recognized and she recognized the strain of sex in it.

Throwing open the curtain, the four people in the booth froze. Hestor was inside Zen and quickly fumbling to pull himself out. The other man was untangling his hand from Zen's black hair and pushing his mouth off his erection.

Lucy had never summoned the dragon back to her as fast as she did. Nor had she ever cast the star around her fist. She punched Hestor and heard him crash into the wall. She didn't bother to look to see if he was alive. Instead, she pulled Zen to her.

"Cris, get us to my apartment."

Cristoff carried Zen to Lucy's bed where he didn't move.

"Fuckin' hell. I'm gonna-"

"You're not going to do anything. Kaleb and Meredy are both down there. While none of them might be as creative in their torture as you, they'll manage," Cristoff said, directing some of his soothing mists towards Lucy as well.

"Is this what it's going to be like for him? Forever?"

"No. Because not all celestial mages are like Hestor. And they're going to make an example of him."

"It had better be damned good."

"Like I said, they're not as creative as you, but Meredy can be just as terrifying."

"I know."

"Are you good on your own? Zen's gonna sleep for a while. The mists can help his mind."

"Yeah. I'm fine." The mists lingered even after Cristoff jumped back down and Lucy pulled out a key. "Open, gate of the southern cross! Crux!"

Grandpa Crux glanced at the sleeping archangel before turning his gaze to his keyholder. "Hello, Miss Lucy."

"Hi, Grandpa Crux. Anything?"

"As Andromeda said, if it had been caught before he'd come into his powers, maybe. But as of yet, I'm sorry. The best that the Vasilía was able to do was remove the compulsion from future generations."

Lucy slid to the ground next to the bed, her chest feeling tight. "You told me that I could protect him. That he'd be more drawn to my magic than anyone else's. What happens if I claim Kaleb?"

"You know what'll happen."

"I know. I was hoping you'd lie to me."

This week at the Pradesh home, she could've challenged Kaleb and mated with him. His family, her kin, they wouldn't have sent her into a protective rage. The protective field her magic created around him would have disappeared once she did as her magic would no longer be trying to claim the man as her mate. She'd hoped time would give him the strength to resist the pull.

"At least you won't have to deal with this with Kaleb," Grandpa Crux said.

"Excuse me?"

"I've already said too much. Just, Vasilía used the Immaculate Light to create the archangels."

The pieces had been in front of her, but she'd been too dense to see it. She knew that Kaleb's hair was a byproduct of his immersion in the Immaculate Light. She'd seen Monoceros's hesitation to heal him.

"He won't have the compulsion because his came from the source and wasn't treated by Cassi, right?" Grandpa Crux smiled. "How much exposure would it take for him to fully change?"

"At the moment, if you were to claim him, the magic you'd push into him would turn him."

"At least he won't have the compulsion…" she murmured.

She was staring at the wall when Loke summoned himself and told Grandpa Crux to return to their realm. It was still processing but she'd known her decision.

"Lucy?" Loke said softly.

Lucy pressed her face into his chest and cried. Cried for the man who never stood a chance. Cried for the man that held her heart. And cried for herself.

Even if she never claimed Zen, she couldn't leave him defenseless. Not yet. It was impossible to know when he'd be able to be around another celestial mage without falling prey to their magic. And Kaleb could manage without her. Regardless of if he was exposed to enough of her magic, he wouldn't need her protections.

 _What's happening?_ Lucy asked after an hour and she'd mostly composed herself.

 _The Knights are taking them to be tested. Telepaths will decide if their intent was criminal and then put them in front of the Immaculate Light to be judged. It was the best Dad could come up with since there aren't really any laws concerning archangels. Meet me in my suite. Dad and Farron are headed to yours._

Lucy waited for the men to arrive. Arman pulled her into a tight hug a mumbled his thanks for taking care of him before going into the bedroom and his eldest son did the same.

"Here. It's chamomile," Kaleb said when Lucy arrived in the suite. The couple settled into the living room, but Kaleb noticed that she'd chosen the armchair opposite of him on the couch. Her thoughts were such a jumbled mess that he almost considered pushing into her mind palace.

"I'd rather have whiskey." Kaleb stood and pulled out a bottle of Boscan Gold. "That'll do."

"After the tea."

About halfway through the cup, Lucy asked, "Did I kill him?"

"Luckily, Cris isn't my only healer."

"Damn." She added the Boscan Gold to the last mouthfuls of tea. "We have a good thing going right now, right?"

"Between us? It could be better. We haven't had much time to really set up a dynamic here at the guild. Where is this coming from?"

"I was- I was just thinking that I shouldn't take a mate."

Kaleb dropped the glass of Boscan Gold hard enough onto the coffee table that the liquid splashed over the rim. "Excuse me?"

"It's just lately, I've considered not taking one or postponing a while longer."

"Three months isn't long enough? Where is this coming from?"

"I just-"

"You've said that," Kaleb said, standing up. "Do you want to know what I want? I want to wake up to you everyday. If we don't mate, we can't promise much less marry. Without mating, you'll never be a queen. Not really. You can't have children." Kaleb dropped to his knees in front of Lucy. "I want to be your mate," he said softly, taking her hand. "I want to be your husband. The father of your children. I want a future _with_ you."

Her thoughts were a still a tangled mess. They were barely coherent.

"Why? And I want the full answer."

Lucy stood and walked towards the kitchen. She couldn't bear to look at Kaleb when she said, "Zen." Then she let him into her memories of the conversations with Grandpa Crux. Including his potential to become an archangel.

"You should have told us about that forcefield earlier. I could've changed how I healed his mind."

"Don't you get it?" she demanded rounding on him. "You can't skip over healing time like that. It kept him from learning his own coping mechanisms. And now his mind no longer knows how to deal with being raped."

"We had to do something drastic."

"Why?"

"Because we'd have lost you in the process!"

Her mind closed off to him and he heard Debussy's _Clare de Lune_. Lucy had asked him why he didn't play instruments and Kaleb told her about the music teacher that his father had hired to teach them all. The teacher had not liked him and while she verbally praised him, she'd been mentally cruel. Debussy was her favorite and it left a nasty memory in his mind. That she'd choose that song…

"What?"

"Your soul was trying so hard to heal Zen's that Bix didn't think you'd survive if we let time heal."

"That would've been my decision though."

"You're right and I'm sorry. But between your exhaustion and the effect of your soul tearing itself apart to heal him, you wouldn't have been clear headed enough to make a decision."

"I think we're at an impasse right now," Lucy said softly.

"You're right. I love you. Do you love me?"

"Yes." She took off the necklace with the ring on it, placed it in the palm of his hand, and closed his fingers around. "But I can't claim you while knowing that I was putting Zen's life in danger."

She didn't look back at him as she walked out though she felt the dragon move to do so. She couldn't handle seeing him cry. She was barely keeping the breath-stealing sobs from happening.

Cristoff and Loke were in her apartment but she knew that Arman must've taken Zen home.

Cristoff took in the tears, the faint gasps from trying to stop the sobs, and the missing ring. "Oh no…" He enveloped her in a hug and held her up as her legs gave out. The sobs came out hard.

"Why?" he murmured.

"I had to choose between a life with Kaleb and protecting Zen's life."

"But Kaleb's your mate."

"I know that," Lucy said, hitting the dragon slayer's chest with the sides of her fists. "But what was I supposed to do?" she sobbed. "Tell me. Please! Tell me what I was supposed to do because I don't know."

He didn't stop her from hitting him even though she definitely had some strength to her. "Please, tell me," she said. She'd stopped crying but in the place of tears was one of the most desolate expressions he'd ever seen.

Without him physically holding her up, she crumpled to the ground. Her knight followed her down, wrapped his arms around her so that she was in his lap, and rocked her.

.~*~.

Kaleb wasn't certain how he'd ended up in the R and D lab. There was always a group working on improving the teleportation lacrimas. He grabbed one.

It didn't matter where he went. He'd snapped the link he had with his family shut in way that he wasn't certain it ever had been. There was a note written on the lacrima but he couldn't see it through his tears. It didn't matter where it went.

The lacirma teleported him to one of the mini abandoned islands that dotted the Grass Sea. It was too small to have any market value but it worked for testing new spells and gauging the distance between two locations.

Once his family had realized that they couldn't reach him through the link, they started calling his comm. He turned it off but stopped himself from throwing it into the Sea. The only thing that stopped him was that he wasn't sure the lacrima would have another jump back to the mainland in it.

He'd never been heartbroken like this before. The last time he'd cried was when he was a child. To be fair, if Lucy had died on the Saberfox, he couldn't fathom his reaction.

He'd planned out asking her to promise properly. Had seen her musings on what their children would look like. Now, he was regretting not following his sister's advice on baiting Lucy into claiming him.

"Dornt ye think this has lasted long enough? I let ye ha'e yer greit. Come noo," a voice said, making Kaleb jump.

The woman was only a few inches taller than Lucy. Her flaming red curls were poorly bound back. She wore the browns and greens of a tracker, but her feet were bare. Her eyes were a shade of cerulean blue that he vaguely remembered one person having as well.

"Caelish?" he asked.

"Oh. Aye. Rhiannon McKinnon. Earth dragon slayer. We ha'e work tae do. Come noo," she said, grabbing ahold of him and shifting.


	32. Chapter 32

**Hi… Sorry. Everything's still shite. But I'm not mean enough to drag it out for too long.**

 **Also, I totally forgot how exhausting writing an accent can be.**

 **The only thing I own is Rhiannon.**

Rhiannon shifted them into White Sea's gardens. It took Kaleb a moment to recognize them. Then he thought, _I wonder if Lucy's seen them yet_. His heart stuttered for a moment as he remembered why he'd tried to escape in the first place.

"How long was I on the island?" he asked, for the first time noticing that the sun had set.

"Three hours."

He sighed. "You couldn't have jumped us to my office?"

"One, I shift, nae jump. Two, I cannae shift intae buildings."

"Why can't I hear you?"

"'Cause when I'm on th' earth, muh mind is as expansive as th' earth. Tis too much, e'en for yer considerable powers."

She walked over to the cobblestone path then gestured for him to go ahead.

 _Rhiannon's mind palace was a cave with pictures stuck to the walls. What surprised Kaleb was Rhiannon sitting at the end of the cave watching him. That had never happened before._

 _"_ _Who are you?"_

 _"_ _Rhiannon. Part o' her, anyways."_

 _"_ _You two are split?"_

 _She stood and walked over to him. Circling him slowly. "Hud tae. Hud tae survive. This is whit might've happened tae some o' ye if ye hadn't bin saved." She stopped so that she was looking him in the eye. "Bit then, nae a' o' ye wur saved, wur ye?"_

 _She pushed him into her memories._

.~*~.

Cae-Lum is led by principalities. When Rhiannon was a year old, Baron Jurro was nearly overthrown during a rebellion. Her father was one of many men and women that fought to protect him.

After the rebels were captured and executed, Baron Jurro retreated back into his castle. New whispers that maybe the rebels were right spurred an advisor to urge the baron to make restitutions to the families of those killed or injured defending him. When the financial restitutions became too much, the advisor urged the baron to use his vast collection of magical artifacts.

While magic wasn't banned, there were few who had the magic innate in them. Learning magic cost too much.

To soldiers still serving him, he gave magic weapons. To the families of those that had died, he gave trinkets. To Rhiannon's father, who had been the head of Baron Jurro's guard until he was maimed, he gave a powerful lacrima.

Baron Jurro didn't know what was in the lacrima except that it was powerful and would need to be implanted. Not willing to have the lacrima implanted in himself, he gave it to his soldier. While also laughing because he knew the McKinnon family was too poor to afford the surgery to have the lacrima implanted.

Rhiannon grew up knowing that her parents were scrimping and saving for a doctor to operate on her. When a doctor said that Rhiannon was getting too old to safely operate, the money magically appeared. It wouldn't be until she was older that she'd realize that her mother sold herself to the baron in return for the money for the surgery.

The sense of smell and hearing seemed to appear overnight. The canines came in when she lost her baby teeth. Rumors spread that she was a demon. Between the sense of smell, her hearing, her own cleverness, and a child's inability to know when _not_ to say something, her family was nearly driven out of their homes.

That was the first time Rhiannon learned to shift. It would be a few years before she'd have enough control to find her way back to her parents. Without her, their lives had become easier. Only her mother would occasionally walk out into the woods and seek out her daughter. But even then, Rhiannon was never allowed to stay.

*.*.*

She met Draco quite on accident. She'd learned to sense the vibrations of people and animals through the earth. The dragon spirit was nothing she'd ever heard before and she started looking for it.

"You have one of the lacrimas. I'm glad their plan worked."

"What?" Rhiannon asked.

"Many, many, many years ago, there was a war. The dragons were split. Some wanted to cohabitate with humans, others didn't. Those that sided with humans started teaching humans the magic to slay dragons.

"However, one dragon slayer went mad. And the dragon that adopted him, taught him, was one of the most powerful of all dragons." Draco sighed. "Zodrodal was a fool. His mate, Dalviama, wasn't much better. The slayer, Acnologia, wasn't human and he wasn't a dragon. He hated them both and stopped caring about who he killed."

"Whit does any o' that ha'e tae dae wi' mah lacrima?"

"I'm getting there, impatient hatchling. And speak Caelish. It's easier to understand than your accent. Acnologia's magic was beyond anything we could imagine, and his dragon parents refused to fight him. A plan was created to raise and train five children then send them into the future where there'd be more ethernano. The three surviving parents sealed themselves and Acnologia. Lacrimas were created of dragons on the human side who died. The lacrimas captured their magic and a piece of their souls before they moved on. The lacrima in you belonged to Zothrizel, the earth dragon. He was our tactician."

"If Aconologia was sealed, why do all that work?" she asked, speaking Caelish.

"Because we knew the magic wasn't perfect. In fact, just opening the gate so that the children could come into this time, damaged the seal. My mate chose a slayer only a few years ago herself when she felt the magic of the gate opening."

"Will you have a slayer?"

"I certainly hope so. I've been waiting long enough."

Rhiannon only stayed with Draco a week before the celestial spirit realized that a human child was more work than he'd realized. He taught her how to recognize his signature in the earth and to recognize Nurem's before sending her to his mate.

*.*.*

She'd managed to be with Nurem for a month without any accidental run-ins with the Pradesh children. Normally, Nurem or the earth warned her of their approach.

"Who are you?" a voice asked, startling her out of her meditation.

She jumped and let out a string of Caelish curse words that she was sure her parents would be appalled to know that she knew. Her eyes widened as she took in the appearance of the boy in front of her. He was close to her age and about her height. His hair was black with red streaks and his eyes were crimson.

 ** _He's looking for his brother_** , the earth said.

"Sorry," she said, shifting away before he could react.

She wouldn't stay with Nurem much longer after that. It didn't matter that Nurem said they were all mages. Or that the earth confirmed that. The bruises had healed, but she remembered the stones being thrown. Then the kicks when the rocks refused to hurt her.

*.*.*

It would be a few more years of relative solitude before she'd feel Nurem leave and the presence of a new dragon. In retrospect, she'd recognize her own hubris. That she'd forgotten Nurem and Draco's warnings concerning the chaos dragon.

He found her through her probing of the new magic. He'd nearly killed her in his disappointment that she wasn't stronger. At last second, when he threw her into a tree, she managed to shift away from him.

For a week, he chased each shift. It wasn't until she'd shifted near Mount Zonia, hoping to lose him in the magic of the mountain, that she successfully got away. Since then, she made a point of always having an idea of where he was.

*.*.*

With the resurgence of the Black Dragon, it was time to start moving the chess pieces. She made a home in a cave to stay in one place. There, she started procuring books on Fiorian and Boscan law. Started sketching out a map of where everyone was with the earth surrounding her and providing her answers.

It wasn't time for Lucy to find Draco. When it came time to fight Acnologia, there would need to be a queen of a tatsu. Wendy was too young. Emzadi didn't seem interested. And the idea of Natsu leading the tatsu, which was his right as Igneel's son, made her question whether she'd ever leave the solitude of the forests.

She paid one of Jude Heartfilia's business partners to plant the seed of having Phantom Lord retrieve Lucy. The action, a decidedly not legal one, would disband the guild and leave Gajeel rudderless. Rhiannon was decidedly not a fan of the man currently but could see the potential. As she suspected, so did Makarov. Actually, she relied on his need to know what his son was doing and that Gajeel made the perfect double agent.

Laxus threw her for a loop. She'd thought his need to prove himself to his grandfather would reign in his worst impulses. When he'd ended up in Bosco with Cristoff, she'd never been more relieved.

Wendy's guild baffled her. Rhiannon could feel her thoughts on the guild but there were never any other footsteps but Carla's near her.

 ** _The Nirvits are gone_**.

"Tell that to Wendy."

The battle with the Oracion Seis showed a problem she had no idea of how to deal with. She had no idea of how to pull Cobra from the darkness. Even his comrades, he barely tolerated.

Sting and Rogue had joined the still burgeoning Sabertooth guild. So far, she saw no problems with them.

And then Tenrou happened. She'd paid idle attention while lying in her bed as they progressed through the trials. Even the attack by Grimoire Hearts didn't interest her. Then she heard Acnologia's attack. She heard their fears. And then, nothing.

Acnologia resurfaced a few days later. Half dead.

For a month, Rhiannon barely ate and listened for any sign of the missing dragon slayers. At the sixth month mark, she left her cave and sealed it. There was no point planning a war when half of those meant to fight it were gone.

Especially when Acnologia and Zeref teamed up.

*.*.*

Rhiannon was in Bosco when she felt it. After leaving her cave, she decided to see what pleasures civilization provided. She'd invested in Sudahpah lessons and a formal induction.

Since she'd had her first heat, and through the nature of her magic, she knew who her three potential mates were. The first would mean going home. The second, she'd met. Their similar magic meant that he taught her a lot about the physical ways she could use her earth magic, but ultimately, she left him without ever needing to acknowledge him as a potential mate. The third was Boscan and recommended for her induction. She'd dismissed that outright.

With Zeref and Acnologia making plans to take over the world, she wanted to enjoy life. She used her magic to find gold and build herself a floorless home on a private island in the Grass Sea. She shared pleasure with whoever caught her interest. But just in case, she stayed within a fairly easy shift to her Boscan mate.

She'd been enjoying time in the Stargazer Mountains when she stumbled upon a hiker. He was a mage and attractive, so she asked him to share pleasure. She was halfway to an orgasm when she felt the tree she was pressed against relay the message. The man stumbled when she shoved him away then stared at her to see if she was changing their positions.

"They're alife? 'At's amazing news. 'At's pure barry," she breathed then kissed the man soundly. "I'm sorry. I've gotta gae."

She shifted away without ever getting name and returned to her cave.

She missed most of Neo-Oracian Seis's attack on Lucy. It was kept annoyingly indoors. What she did hear was Acnologia's joy. That worried her. Anything that could make him that happy could not be good for the rest of them.

It was soon after that she stated sensing a new person accompanying him. Emery.

The earth relayed some of what was happening in the Games, but she couldn't sense them herself. She'd shifted to Crocus to watch the Games but Natsu's nose detected her magic faster than she was comfortable with and she ran into the gardens at Mercurius Castle to get back to her cave. It still wasn't time. Lucy couldn't become Draco's dragon slayer until she mastered her stardress.

When the dragons appeared, she shifted to a cliff overlooking the city. At first, it had been because she couldn't believe there'd been dragons. Then, she froze. While she'd gotten a little better at combat, she still wasn't great. And those were dragons. Actual dragons.

"Scared?" Rhiannon swallowed when she heard Acnologia's voice behind her. "I'm not here to kill you."

"Excuse me if I dinnae believe 'at."

"I know what you're planning. You're planning to create a tatsu to take me out." He grabbed her chin to force him to look at her. "Good. I want the fight. And I look forward to destroying that smug bastard's little brother."

Before Tartarus, Rhiannon felt Lucy pushing her magic and the beginnings of her stardress. The Celestial King gave her the final push towards mastery. And it was finally nearly time.

The disbandment of the guild made getting Lucy to Draco a little trickier. Instead, she sent a job request intended for Yukino, know that the celestial mage would tell Lucy. She was pleased that Natsu was out of the way for a while. At Lamia Scale, Wendy claimed Chelia as her mate. Gajeel hadn't made that final push but Rhiannon knew that it would be Levy that would instigate it. Cobra had become Erik through Kinana's and Jellal's influence. Sting and Rogue were finding themselves again after being under Jiemma's thumb for so long. Laxus was grieving the loss of Mira as his mate but recognized Emzadi as a potential. Emzadi, who hadn't been fortunate enough to meet any of her other potentials, had no intention of letting Laxus go. Cristoff was as solid as usual and Rhiannon wondered what his relationship with Lucy would be.

The pieces were finally coming together.

*.*.*

"You screwed up," Nurem seethed.

"I did not," Rhiannon said in Caelish.

"Yes, you did. The celestial realm is in uproar right now."

She focused on the area around the guild. White Sea was in an annoyingly urban area so with the exception of the gardens and the trees that lined the road, there wasn't soil for her to listen from. The trees tried to listen to as much as they could. Trees had weird priorities though.

 _There was an altercation. They raped the archangel._

"Fuck."

"I told you. You screwed up."

"How did this happen?"

"It's a nature of his-"

Rhiannon started pacing. "I know. That wasn't what I meant. And I didn't screw up. How was I supposed to know that he was a lost Pradesh or that he was an archangel? Andromeda and Cassiopeia were shielding his magic. That's perfect. Not part of this problem but it'll do."

Used to Rhiannon's jumping from problem to problem, Nurem said, "You need to fix this. The tatsu will dissolve before it fully has a chance-"

"I'm working on it. Now shut up."

Nurem watched as Rhiannon paced back and forth as her fingers typed on an imaginary keyboard. As a child, Nurem had advised her to learn archive magic. While, in theory, she did, the knowledge that she gathered from the earth didn't always translate well. Often times, she used her modified archive magic to figure out possibilities.

"I have a plan that has a fifty-two percent success rate."

"That's not great."

"It's better than the others." Rhiannon sighed. Then her expression changed to horrified.

"What?"

"I'm going to have to get involved."

.~*~.

"How are you so close to Nurem?" he asked as they went into the guild. He wasn't sure if the goal was to get him to trust her or not. Under normal circumstances, he might have, but the version of Rhiannon that was in her mind palace gave him pause.

"I make a point o' always knowing whaur Acnologia is. Therefore, I'm th' safest body tae be aroond. An' ye saw. I met her as a bairn." They'd reached his office when she stopped. "Yer faimily is in thare. We'll blether efter. Th' bathhouses wur that wey, right?"

"Uh yes."

He opened the door, trusting her dragon hearing, and walked in. The conversation stopped as the looked at him. Farron was presumably in Pelerno with Zen but the rest of them were there.

"Who's with Lucy?" he asked.

"I was earlier, but she kicked me out. Erik and Laxus are there currently," Cristoff said.

Emzadi walked over to her big brother and hugged him. "We were worried. Are worried. You closed our link."

He closed his eyes and reconnected the mental link he had with his family. There were a few chuckles at his grimace. As soon as his father felt the link reestablish, he started tearing into his son for disappearing like that. Which was then followed by Arman asking how he was doing.

"I'm not sure how I'm feeling at the moment. I want go up there and say she's right. That we can wait. That nothing has to change. But then, part of me knows that it does have to change. That this dynamic can't continue indefinitely."

Something about the Mind Palace Rhiannon was niggling at him. The need for her to lock away a part of herself to survive.

"When was the last time you looked at Lucy's soul?" Kaleb asked suddenly.

"Earlier today," Bickslow asked, confused at where he was going with this. "She's doing better."

"Okay. Look, I'm not going to pretend that it's going to be easy but Cris, Bix, I need both of you to not let the situation change how you treat Lucy. Emi, I know you can't pretend but please don't force Laxus to choose between you and Lucy.

"I met another dragon slayer today. Her name is Rhiannon. She says a war is coming with Acnologia. And Lucy's going to need to be emotionally stable."

"How have we not met her?" Emzadi asked.

"She's a recluse. Her mind is… complex. She's the earth dragon slayer. There's a part of her mind that belongs to the earth and it was hard to navigate what was safe and what wasn't. I chose to err on the side of caution."

"Where is she now?" Cristoff asked.

"Working her way through our bath attendants," Kaleb said after a moment.

"My kind of woman," Vander commented.

"I'm exhausted. You all go. I'll see you tomorrow." Each of his siblings hugged him tight before leaving until only Cristoff remained. "I'll be fine."

"Are you sure?"

"I have a new puzzle to solve. And apparently a war to start preparing for."

Cristoff nodded, knowing that his brother would throw himself into work. Coming up with something that would distract Kaleb had been what they were discussing when he'd entered.

Once he was alone, Kaleb sagged into his chair and didn't fight the tears that escaped his closed eyes. His magic wandered up to Lucy unbidden.

She was sitting in her apartment with Laxus and Erik and just barely holding it together herself. It was only for the sake of the two men with her that wasn't curled up sobbing in her bed. Both men were like deer in the headlights when it came to crying women.

Kaleb considered doing a deeper dive into her mind but knew that she'd sense his presence. She always did. And he wasn't sure he was ready to face her reaction if he was wrong. Instead, he turned back to the problem at hand.

 _Acnologia,_ Kaleb thought to himself. _The monster in the horror stories Nurem told._


	33. Chapter 33

**Hello, my pretties.**

 **I don't own FT or the Pradesh family. Also, "Haud yer weesht" means shut up.**

Bickslow and Erik stood outside the door to Lucy's apartment. Bickslow was hesitating while Erik just listened to him argue with himself.

"I can go alone," Erik said finally.

"No. I should…"

"I don't think she'll hate you for never wanting to talk to her again."

"I don't hate her. I know she's probably hurting just as much as Kaleb is. But he's my brother. I can't figure out who I'm supposed to be supporting."

"They're not asking you to pick sides, so why not support both?"

"If you're coming in just do it already," Lucy yelled through the door.

"Hey, Tink," Erik said as he entered. "Your hearing is getting better. I brought-"

He stopped when he noticed the four-course breakfast spread out along the table and counters. There were eggs in nearly every style, bacon, sausage, pancakes, French toast, hash browns, and even a quiche.

"I cook when I'm upset."

Her hair was in a messy ponytail, there were noticeable bags under her red eyes, and she was wearing a shirt that looked suspiciously like Kaleb's.

"Must be part of the reason Flametard kept you around," Erik said as he bumped her out of the way to hunt for unused plates.

She made a noise like a half-chuckle, half-cough. "I don't think he knew. Didn't exactly leave me enough food in my kitchen. Mira did. She'd let me use the guild's kitchens when I needed to."

Bickslow moaned when Erik shoved a bite of pancake with homemade strawberry syrup. "And where did you learn this amazing coping mechanism?"

"There weren't many places I could escape to growing up, so I ended up in the kitchen a lot." She sighed. "I'll probably leave in a few days."

"Leave where?"

"I don't know. I have enough money saved currently. I'll probably go back to Fiore. Help rebuild Fairy-"

She stopped at the same time Arman started yelling through the mental link.

 _I lost Zen!_

Bickslow watched as Lucy's aura flared and Zen dropped onto her balcony.

 _I've got Zen. He just dropped onto Lucy's balcony._

 _Tell him that I don't care that he's twenty-six. He's grounded._

 _Yeah. That'll go over well._

"Zen, Dad says you're grounded."

"'Grounded'?" he asked, looking at Lucy.

"It means you're in trouble. You shouldn't have just flown off without telling anyone."

"You weren't nearby."

Lucy opened her mouth then changed her mind and closed it before turning to Bickslow and Erik. "Why don't you two go? Take some food with you please. Zen and I need to talk."

"Lucy," Bickslow said quietly, "you don't have to leave."

"I broke the guildmaster's heart. I don't think I can stay."

Bickslow took the offered plate heavy with food that Erik passed him and left.

 _Kaleb, I think I saw what you were talking about._

 _What do you mean?_

 _Her aura's changed. It was always a bright golden-yellow. Even after becoming a dragon slayer. It's more like burnished gold now. It must've been happening slow enough that I didn't notice. It flared when Zen arrived. It sensed him before he'd landed. I'm not sure what it means, but I don't like._

*.*.*

Kaleb was surprised when it was Zen who knocked on his door. His siblings had been periodically poking their heads in to check up on him. It took a few calming breaths for him sooth the animosity that he knew wasn't fair.

"You won," Kaleb said when he sat down in the chair that Lucy so often occupied.

"No. I don't want her."

"What?"

Zen stood and started pacing. "Sorry. That wasn't the right way to phrase it. I love her, and I don't know if I'll love anyone the way that I love her. But I don't want her. Not like this.

"We just had a conversation where she told me everything that had happened. She reached for the ring nine times. I started counting after the third. And the look on her face when it wasn't there." He sighed. "I love her and would work hard to make her happy but what kind of relationship could be built when that's the look on her face when she sees you?"

*.*.*

Draco summoned himself to Lucy's side when Zen left. He flinched slightly when he saw the look of fear that crossed her face when she saw him.

"Are you mad at me?" she asked in a small voice.

"No, hatchling. Come here," he said, opening his arms so that she could run into them.

It had been so long that she'd forgotten how a father's hug felt. The sense of safety and comfort.

"Sit," he said finally. "We need to talk about what happened."

"I don't even understand what happened," she said, sitting down and pulling her knees to her chest. "I knew that I was waiting for Zen to become stronger. More stable. Then he was attacked. Then, all I remember thinking was that I had to protect him at all costs." She reached for the ring again only to choke back a faint sob as its absence. "I don't understand why I ended things."

"Do you remember me telling you that I was a spirit first and a dragon second?" Lucy nodded. "It's only with a celestial mage that and archangel can have more archangels. It's why the urge to mate, not just bond, is so strong."

"But Kaleb-"

"Has the potential to _become_ one. Zen already is. Combine that with your big heart and is it any surprise that you'd want protect him?"

"But Kaleb is my mate. And I love him."

"And only time can tell if you'll find your way back to him."

There was a knock on the door. "It's open," Lucy yelled.

"Hello, Draco. Lucy, can we talk?" Cristoff asked.

"Yeah. Of course." She smiled at Draco. "Thank you for checking up on me." She looked back at Cristoff when Draco disappeared.

"Your turn?"

"You knew?" She nodded as he walked over to sit where Draco had been. "There's more. There's another dragon slayer: Rhiannon McKinnon." Cristoff proceeded to tell her everything Kaleb had learned when he met her.

"She went to Kaleb?"

The temperature started fluctuating rapidly as she channeled both hot and cold stars. How dare another dragon slayer go near her mate?

"Lucy, stop," Cristoff ordered, reaching out to grip her wrist only to jerk back when she burnt him. Normally, their magic, the bond of being her knight, negated injuries like that. "Look what you did," he said, holding up his injured hand as his magic started healing it.

"I'm sorry," she cried, burrowing her face between her knees. "I'm so sorry."

She stopped blubbering when they heard a large crash accompanied by a loud bellow, "LUCE!"

"You heard that too, right?" she asked, hoping that even dragon hearing couldn't hear through two floors and that she was just hallucinating.

"Yeah."

Lucy sighed, this time beating her forehead on her knee. "I don't have the patience for this. Downstairs, there's a pink-haired idiot. Can you go knock him out and put him somewhere? Preferably where Laxus can't find him."

"Why don't you want Laxus to find him?"

"Because he'll kill him and I want that pleasure," she replied as she walked into her bedroom to get her comm.

"Was that the infamous Natsu?"

"Unfortunately. Gajeel," she said when he answered his comm, "why is Natsu in White Sea?"

She waved Cristoff goodbye. She was certain that he must've heard stories about him for him to take off that quickly.

"'Cause he has a better sense of direction than I gave him credit for. We're all in White Sea."

"Why?"

"Here's the Shrimp. You two talk it out."

"Hey, Lev. What the fuck is going on?"

"We got anonymous letters saying the we needed to be with the queen in Bosco. Well, the dragons anyways. Natsu didn't know you were the queen until Cana blurted it out."

"Why would you tell Cana? The only secret she's successfully kept was that Gildarts was her father."

"She cornered me. She was looking for you with her cards and found out you were a queen. She thought you were mated to a dragon slayer, not that you'd become one. I don't deal well under that kind of pressure."

"Who all is with you?"

"Your team. Juvia. Chelia. Cana because of course Cana was coming. She'll probably spend most of the time in the bathhouses. And um…the Strausses."

"Please tell me that you're kidding."

"No."

"Fuck. Okay. I've gotta go."

 _Kaleb? Kaleb, I know you can hear me. I don't blame you for being angry with me but-_

 _I'm not angry. All right. Yes, a little. But mostly I'm hurt._

Lucy sunk down the wall by her door. _I know. I don't blame you, but we've got a problem._

 _What?_

 _Fairy Tail's here._

 _Yes. Cris is dealing with your partner._

 _Yes, but more importantly, Mira is coming._

 _I know that name._

 _She was Laxus's other potential mate and one of the only people in Fairy Tail that could hold her own against Emi._

 _I'll figure out where they are and keep them out of the guild for a while._

 _Kaleb, I'm sorry._

 _I know. The house you were talking about renting with Wendy. Do you want me to ask Thane to look into it?_

 _Please._ She smiled. That conversation had seemed so irrelevant at the time, but he'd remembered.

.~*~.

It took a day before everyone was settled into the house with protection runes from Freed to limit any potential damage. Cristoff, Kaleb, and Lucy had been working hard to keep Mira from finding out about Emzadi just yet.

"So, you're the earth dragon slayer?" Lucy said, sitting across from her in a corner booth of the guild. The red-headed woman had appeared suddenly that morning saying that it was time for her and Lucy to meet.

"Aye. Rhiannon McKinnon."

"Why are we just now meeting you?"

"There wis ne'er a reason for ye tae know me before. I just play my part an' get out o' th' way."

"And there is now?"

"Acnologia." Rhiannon watched as the color drained from her face. "He's preparin' for war. Wi'oot a tatsu, we dinnae stand a chance. I came tae save the tatsu."

"They said you were a tactician."

"They said ye were clever. Then again, ye shoved yer mate awa'."

Lucy slammed her hands onto the table separating them and leaned forward. "And you won't go with-"

"Haud yer wheesht. I 'ave my own mate."

"Luce!" "Lushy!"

Lucy stood when she heard Natsu and Happy barreling towards her. Before he could reach her, Lucy sidestepped so that Natsu crashed into a table, but she let Happy crash into her chest.

"I'm sorry. I need to let them wake to eat," Cristoff said following them.

"It's fine."

"Lushy, we missed you. Natsu's an awful cook. And he takes all my fishies. And we got back but you were gone. Are you really a dragon slayer now?"

"Yup," she said, smiling for the blue cat.

"Yosh! Fight me."

"No."

"Luce," he whined.

She made a low growl in the back of her throat. The urge to obey was much weaker which worried Cristoff.

"Luce, fight me."

"O' course, he's capable o' ignoring a queen's growl." Rhiannon rolled her eyes.

"You know what? Fine. Let's go." Lucy started dragging him out by his scarf.

"We should follow them."

"Lucy can handle him."

"Who said 'twas Lucy that I was worried about?"

He studied her as they followed. "You're scheming something."

"Generally. Emzadi should be in place by now. When ye hear the signal, jump her away."

"What's the signal? And jump her where?"

"Ye'll ken it."

Lucy chose the training facility where the obstacle course was housed. She typed something into the computer so that the jungle that had taken over disappeared.

"What was that? This place is cool," Natsu said, running into the center. "I'll let you have the first punch."

Lucy gave him a feral smirk. Combining her meteor spell with her newfound ability to wrap the power of a star around her wrist, she launched at him. The punch threw him back and he dug his hand into the ground to stop himself from colliding with the wall. He grinned and ran back at her.

Between the meteor spell and the acrobatic lessons that she'd been getting from Bickslow, Natsu's wild swings weren't landing. Her Elluris clothing was holding up well when a few of his wide burning did catch her. The outfit she was wearing wasn't specifically fireproof though and it was beginning to show.

Using the meteor spell, she ran around Natsu placing four magic circles around him. "Beta, Gamma, Nu, and Xi Draconis, tróo!" The head of a dragon appeared beneath Natsu and seemed to swallow him. When the head disappeared, Natsu was bent over, hands on his knees, gasping for air.

Lucy was panting softly. The meteor spell didn't require a lot of magic, but it still physically exhausted her. She walked over to him.

"Get up. I'm not done with you yet."

"Luce?" he questioned as he straightened up.

She punched. It was just with her dragon slayer strength, but it pushed him back slightly. "You left. I was still sleeping and you left." She followed each word with a punch. The tears streaming down her face had him frozen. "You snuck out."

"I-"

"You did because you're loud when you get up and you snuck out with a note. And you're going to take me seriously." Lucy knew his tells. Knew when to he was taking a fight seriously or when he wasn't.

Cristoff watched as the fight changed. The destructive but powerful pain-in-the-ass that all of the stories portrayed him as hadn't been the mage he'd been watching. Lucy's technique was as calculated as usual. She'd been careful not to use any attacks that would create flames for him to eat. It didn't surprise him that she wasn't using her spirits. She needed to beat him on her own.

Suddenly, Lucy's scent changed and she pinned Natsu down. "Submit."

"Shit," Cristoff cursed and glanced at Rhiannon who was now covering Happy's eyes. The other dragon slayer winked.

Cristoff jumped to Lucy and hoisted her off the struggling Natsu before teleporting away.

*.*.*

 _"_ _Emzadi, right?"_

 _"_ _You're Rhiannon, aren't you?" Emzadi asked looking at the shorter woman._

 _"_ _Aye. Ye kin track ye brother's jumps, right?"_

 _"_ _Yeah…"_

 _"_ _Yer brother is gonna make a few jumps. Take Kaleb ta 'is flat."_

 _"_ _Why?"_

 _"'_ _Cause it'll make yer brother happy. Or oor lives depend oan it. Take yer pick."_

*.*.*

Avoiding her attacks was difficult. Lucy was practically feral. She wasn't using her magic except to make small jumps in an attempt to get back. Or maybe out. He wasn't sure if she appreciated that they were in the guildmaster penthouse. As much as it bugged her, Cristoff was glad that she hadn't gotten a hang of making the jumps yet.

"Lucy, you don't want to do this."

"Take me back to him. Or the archangel."

"Not Kaleb?"

That made her freeze. For a moment, he was relieved. Until she kicked him. He'd heard they were powerful but underestimated when shifted out of the way instead of outright dodging it. Despite it not landing fully, it knocked the air out of him.

He felt Emzadi's magic signature with Kaleb.

"We need to go," he said, grabbing his sister and jumping them out. _You need to challenge her._

For a moment, Kaleb and Lucy stared at each other. Lucy attacked first. The dragon overrode her desire to hide away and cry. It saw a potential mate.

The fight stayed hand-to-hand, which he was grateful for. That didn't stop the damage, but it limited it. The dragon knew that this mate was the strongest magically. That this was Lucy's preferred.

She slowly managed to physically tear his clothes off as well as remove her own before dropping down to sweep him to the ground. Then, she climbed on top of him, making a point of ensuring that she rubbed against his erection.

"Submit," she ordered.

When he looked at her, for the first time since the fight started, he saw Lucy in those brown eyes at they studied his face. "Yes."

As she slid down on him, she sighed before leaning forward and biting his left pectoral. Kaleb groaned then blacked out.

.~*~.

Kaleb knew from both of his siblings that when slayers mated, they saw visions of their mate's lives. He'd been expecting that. Not the image of a small Lucy sitting in a spectator's box in Skys Reach next to her father. Once again, he was glad that Lucy didn't expect him to ask for his blessing because all he really wanted was to throttle the man that thought it was a good idea to bring a child to place like Skys Reach.

Despite that, something in the field had her entire attention. Kaleb followed her gaze and saw Zen's unmistakable wings.

"Daddy, can we bring him home?"

"Slavery is illegal in Fiore. We're here about their agriculture not their slave trade."

"Why would he be a slave?"

"I'm not going to pay good money to buy an orphan to set him free," Jude barked. Lucy flinched away as if she was worried he'd hit her.

Kaleb decided that he really wanted to talk him about how he treated his daughter after all.

Child Lucy turned to Kaleb who was standing next to him. "I just wanted to protect him," Lucy said softly. "I wanted to save him."

Kaleb squatted down so that he was looking her in the eye. "You did."

"Really?"

"Yeah. It'll take a few more years, but yes. You saved him."

"Did I?" the voice of the adult Lucy asked.

Kaleb stood and looked at her. "Yes."

The scene faded until they were back in his living room, but he knew that it was still an illusion. Their fight was happening around them like translucent ghosts.

He walked over to her and cupped her face in his hands. The scene changed to the night at the Pradesh Mansion when he'd tried protecting Lucy and Zen. "And I'm sorry. I'm sorry for not listening to you about coping mechanisms. I'm sorry for not making sure that the link between you wasn't a two-way path. But he doesn't need to just survive now. He can live now."

She smiled.

"Come home," he said, his lips pressed against hers. "Come home."

.~*~.

Lucy woke up feeling more like herself than she had for days. It was as she cuddled up to the hard body half underneath her that she fully remembered what had happened over the last few days.

Her eyes flew open and she sat up. Kaleb's naked body was as distracting as always before she realized that her mating mark decorated his left side. The head was over his heart and trailed down his side. The dragon itself was faint with the stars that made up the constellation superimposed against it.

She glanced up and saw Kaleb's lavender eyes watching her.

"I'm so sorry. I shouldn't have done this but I'm not sure there's a way to undo it. Once it settles we can-"

Kaleb pulled her up and kissed her until he felt her melt into the kiss and moan softly before pulling away. "You are the most stubborn, thickheaded, amazing person I've ever known. I love you and want to be mated to you. When I get up, I'm going to put that ring on your finger and it's not going to come off again until I put a wedding band on it. Understand?" She nodded mutely. "Good." He kissed her again. "Do you understand what happened?"

"Not really. The last few days are kinda hazy."

"We didn't realize that the connection between you and Zen went both ways. That you were taking in some of his darkness. We thought by lessening his need to take your light that we saved you both. Instead, his sense of self-preservation- It was as if you were enthralled. You needed to protect him at all costs. At least, until your draconic senses kicked into overdrive."

"I'm sorry," she said, peppering his face with kisses. "And thank you. Thank you for saving me. I love you."

"I love you, too. After all this, I think I deserve my prize."

She gave him a bemused look before frowning when she remembered the bet that resulted in them going out dancing that night in Pelerno.

"Honey? Really?"

"Yes. I think I have enough in the cupboard." His eyes glanced down as he considered every place he wanted to lick honey off her body.

"We should talk to your family," she said, marveling at him as he stood and walked to his kitchen cabinets.

"Nice try. They can wait." With the bottle of honey in one hand, he scooped her up and carried her into the bedroom, kissing what he could reach as she giggled.

 **That was more lemony than I'm used to. Also, really awkward but that's why I said I don't write lemons.**


	34. Chapter 34

**"** **Make it dark, make it grim, make it tough, but then, for the love of God, tell a joke." Joss Whedon**

 **I learned something very important over the last few days, I'm really glad that I write apocalyptic fiction because I struggled with this.**

 **I own nothing but Rhiannon.**

Kaleb watched Lucy dance around the kitchen in a translucent negligee that he mentally noted that he needed to thank his sister for picking out. He walked up behind her, wrapped his arms around her waist, and watched as the dragon's tail shifted away from her neck as he kissed the juncture. Then moved to nip the dragon. Lucy moaned and arched into his chest.

"Your dad is expecting us."

"So?"

"So, we won't make it out of here at this rate."

"I think he'll forgive us."

"Doubt it."

He had every intention of seducing her back to their bed until they were distracted by the smell of the pancake burning.

"Crap. This is why you don't distract the chef," she scolded as scraped the pancake out of the skillet.

"Sorry," he replied, not sounding at all apologetic.

"Psh. No, you're not." She squirmed out of his grip. "Go get dressed. We still have to meet up with Thane to fill out the Promised paperwork before going to your dad's house."

He sighed. They'd already spent an entire day in bed, so he couldn't fault his father's anxiousness. Cristoff had been covering his paperwork though the computer handled most of it for him.

The wings across his shoulder blades appeared a few hours after Lucy initially claimed him. He knew that the time it took for the bites to set was based on the magic differences between the slayer and their mate. For Cristoff, it had taken two days for his magic to settle within Meredy. For Emzadi and Laxus, their magic was on par with the other, so the bites settled fairly easily, and they'd spent the rest of the time merely enjoying each other.

While Lucy was undoubtedly powerful, he was a wizard saint and accepted the magic she pushed into him with ease. After Lucy summoned Andromeda to confirm that the wings were the sign that his archangel magic had activated, they'd spent the rest of the day in bed. This time, it was Kaleb mating with Lucy.

Lucy returned in a blush pink dress made from Boscan silk. Since mating, the block that she'd unconsciously placed separating her from her dragon slayer magic had disappeared. One perk that she'd been enjoying was being able to finally jump at will.

"When did you get this?" he asked, using the fabric as an excuse to touch her.

"Farron. I hadn't actually meant for him to buy me one but apparently he got my measurements from Emi." Kaleb continued to give her a confused look. "When I went to the ball with him, I was playing the role of ditzy blonde for Lord Mytril." She shuddered at the memory of the way he leered at her chest. "I asked about getting a dress and he said he would, but I thought he was just playing along."

"I will like it much better off, but I like it. You're beautiful."

She stood on her toes to kiss him but danced out of his grip before he could deepen it. "Thane will be here in a sec."

Between her being gone in Pergrande and then her watching over Zen, he'd forgotten what bubbly Lucy was like. He would never admit it to her, but he'd been jealous of the way she interacted with his siblings. Now understanding that she'd been avoiding the mating call, it made him enjoy the ease in which she touched him.

Thane arrived a minute later to a giggling Lucy as Cancer had free reign on Kaleb's hair while the guildmaster grumbled. The spirit only took a little off the ends before braiding it and returning to the celestial realm.

"You know, next time I owe him a favor, I might make you let him play with your hair," Lucy said teasingly.

"What do I get to play with?"

Lucy winked.

Thane was amused by the way they interacted with one another. While he'd admit that he thought she'd end up with one of his brothers, he could see joviality that she brought out in Kaleb. And took him to task in a way only his family could.

"This came for you," Thane said, holding out a box.

"It's here?" Lucy squealed running over to Thane.

The ring had a large lacrima set in the center. The wide gold band had been engraved to look like Lucy's ring. She lifted it out of the box, channeled a small spark of starlight to the tip of her finger, and pressed it into the lacrima. When he stepped up behind her, she tipped her head to look at him before turning to take his hand and sliding the ring on.

"This ring doesn't come off until I put a wedding band on it," she told him, echoing what he'd said first.

"Wouldn't dream of it," he said, kissing her. "Let's do this paperwork before I change my mind about letting you drag me to family dinner."

"This will be the first official documentation listing you as a dragon slayer and you as an archangel," Thane said. "I called your father when you told me so that he could make the appropriate adjustments."

"I'm officially a dragon slayer…" she murmured.

"It's the only legal way."

"I know. It's just still a little weird to think about."

Thane pulled out the papers from the folder he was carrying. Stuck to the top page was a note in Kaleb's handwriting: _Will you marry me?_ She read the words while hearing him ask in her head. She spun around to find him on his knee, a Fiorian gesture, with a bracelet and she could see their two birthstones in the center charm.

"Yes," she said, barreling him over in her haste to kiss him.

"I'll leave-"

"Hold on," Lucy said, going over to sign the papers, noting that Kaleb already had. "Thank you."

"Have fun," Thane said, chuckling and teleporting out.

 _Tell your dad we're gonna be late._

.~*~.

It took an embarrassing amount of jumps to finally get to the Pradesh mansion. Lucy had mastered the distance finally but still struggled with aim.

Arman was waiting for them at the door. All four dragonslayers had sensed her arrival and he'd gone to wait by the door. Their initial separation had put him in a difficult position because he'd realized that he'd have to allow one of his sons to be heartbroken. Then, Zen had flown home and told him that he'd told Kaleb to fight for Lucy. It was ultimately the knowledge that both of his sons were content with how the situation played out that had him waiting.

On the other hand, Lucy was nervous about why Arman was waiting for them. "Hi," she said nervously.

"Hello. You two are mated now?"

"And engaged," Kaleb said, lifting Lucy's wrist so that his father could see the bracelet.

Dropping the pretense of severity, Arman pulled Lucy into a hug. "I expect lots of grandbabies."

"We would've been practicing on making them if you hadn't insisted on a family dinner," Kaleb muttered.

Lucy elbowed him in the side. "We'll see."

"Welcome to the family," Arman said and smiled when Lucy sighed. "Come on. You're late and everyone's waiting."

Emzadi had gone to Lucy first to ask about her dress before recognizing the engagement bracelet. That had prompted her to drag Lucy, followed by the other women, into the Women's Room.

"I thought he was kidding when he said he was gonna propose like that," Emzadi said when Lucy had told them about how he proposed.

"He eavesdropped. I was talking to Andy- Andromeda- and asked about marriage. I said that I didn't care one way or another as long as I was with him." Lucy smiled as she looked at the two stones on her bracelet.

"That's adorable," Meredy said.

"Where's Ever?" Lucy asked.

"She took a job with Beck as soon she heard the Fairy Tail group was here. I'm guessing one of them was her ex?" Emzadi said.

"Yeah. Elfman Strauss, beast take-over mage."

"Wow. She really does have a type."

"What do you think of them? Honestly? You know him better than I do," Lucy asked.

"I adore Ever, but no. I don't think so. His preferences always seemed to lean towards men. Honestly, I think I'm the only woman he ever pursued a relationship with. Ever has the confidence to take what she wants and Beck kind of goes with the flow. But, eventually, she'll want more than he's giving her."

"It's probably for the best. I'm definitely a supporter of everyone taking a Boscan lover at least once in their life," Meredy said as she stretched her arm over her head with a self-satisfied smile.

"Out of curiosity, which of you will be the first to start popping out grandbabies for Dad?" Xally asked. "'Cause Presca and I sure as hell aren't there yet."

"Keep bragging…" Emzadi muttered, catching the pillow Lucy threw at her.

"Cris and I certainly aren't," Meredy said. "We're still arguing numbers. Which I totally blame your father for."

"Laxus and I want a bunch so we're enjoying not having any currently."

The three women turned to Lucy who shrugged. "It'll happen when it happens."

"As queen, you'll probably be the first," Emzadi said. "Nurem once said that when a queen laid her first clutch, all the other females with mates would too. And the males would start looking for a broodmother."

She glanced down at her flat abdomen and poked it.

 _You'll look stunning pregnant. And I can't wait to see it._

 _What have I said about eavesdropping?_

 _I was reaching out to tell you that dinner was ready and heard the commentary._

"Kaleb says dinner's ready."

The women joined the men at the table just as Vander stepped out of the shadows.

"You're late," Arman chastised.

"Sorry. I was busy."

"With who?" Bickslow asked, his tongue wagging.

"I've been with Rhia for the most part. I like her."

"'Rhia'?" Lucy asked.

"Rhiannon. The new dragon slayer. Her name's a bit of a mouthful. She's like the best wing woman. We had a threesome yesterday. It was amazing."

"He almost sounds like he's in love," Meredy said to Lucy in a whisper.

"Have the two of you shared pleasure?" Lucy asked.

"Not directly. Actually, she reminds me of you when you were avoiding Kaleb. Except without the glare you did a shitty job of hiding when someone propositioned him."

 _Are you thinking that he's her mate?_

 _With her power, I'm sure she knows if he is or isn't._

"Before I forget though, she said that Andromeda and Cassiopeia were able to suppress his magic. Couldn't they do that again?" Vander said.

Lucy jumped up, summoned Andromeda, and asked her that question. Zen never got used to seeing Andromeda as a preteen.

"Yes," Andromeda said. "Probably better since we have a contract with you now."

"Shouldn't it be Cassiopeia's key that we use? Andy is more combative," Kaleb asked.

"As long as you have Percy, I can get to you. That's why we insist on someone having all four keys before we agree to a contract. Besides, the point of having warding that only a woman could pass through was to keep Mitéra away from men." Andromeda turned to Zen. "I'm sorry that my mother did this to you, but I'm glad for the opportunity to help you until a more permanent solution can be found," she said, bowing to him before disappearing.

"Here." Lucy passed Zen Andromeda's key.

"I'll keep her safe."

"You'd better," Lucy said as she sat back down. "I think that it's time for all of us to get together. All the slayers, I mean."

"Oh. So, you're going to stop running interference between us and the other slayers?" Emzadi asked.

A quick glance at Cristoff and Laxus told Lucy that Emzadi was the only one that didn't know about Mira being there.

"It's not so much that I didn't want you around the other slayers so much as I didn't want you around Mira." Lucy watched as the name processed in Emzadi's head.

"Your other potential?" she asked, turning to Laxus.

"Yes."

"She's in Bosco?"

"Yes. She came with the rest of Fairy Tail."

Lucy knew that his relationship with Mira was complicated. They'd dated before Lisanna 'died' but broke up when Mira changed. Then they'd tried dating again when everyone returned from Tenrou and he recognized her as his mate, but they had trouble gaining traction.

"Speaking of Fairy Tail, I met your friend Cana. Can I keep her?" Vander said. Both Lucy and Laxus flashed him a grateful smile.

"Probably not. Then you'd have to deal with her father," Bickslow said.

"You don't think I could take him?"

Laxus and Lucy both seemed to muse over the question before saying, "No."

"If Gildarts wasn't so destructive and stayed in one place for an extended amount of time, he'd easily be classified as wizard saint," Freed said. "His magic level normally is terrifying. When he exerts himself…"

"I honestly don't think I've ever seen him push himself," Laxus admitted.

"When are you two going to tie the knot?" Meredy asked, looking at Farron and Freed.

"I don't think we will," Freed said.

"What?" Arman asked, dropping his fork.

"We were talking about it since I have an assignment coming up in Desierto where same-sex marriage is outlawed. In some of these countries, it could be outright dangerous for us to be wed. Even if Freed doesn't accompany me."

"And you've both agreed to this?" Arman asked, his gaze bouncing between the two.

"Yes."

Lucy glanced at Bickslow with a raised eyebrow. He nodded, understanding that she was wondering if Freed was really all right with that.

 _If anything, it's Farron that's more annoyed_ , Kaleb said.

 _Then why not say 'fuck it'?_

 _Because then Dad would have to take over those assignments._

Emzadi and Lucy both rounded on Meredy when they'd found out she asked Cristoff to promise with her. He'd been taking things slow since their mating had been so rushed and she got impatient.

Bickslow and Erik said that the paperwork was too much work. Emzadi had put a ring on Laxus as soon as they'd finished mating.

"Don't look at us," Xally said, the moment her father turned to her and Presca. It had surprised Lucy at the ease which the quiet man sat with the family. Until Kaleb pointed out that he'd been Vander's partner for years and it wasn't Arman's nature to turn any of their friends away.

"Hey, Zen. Kaleb's archangel magic is active. You wanna show him how to fly?" Lucy asked.

Zen lit up. "Yeah. Of course."

Arman sent her a grateful smile. He'd noticed that his silence was more an awkward I-don't-know-what-I-can-add-to-the-conversation kind of silence compared to Presca just being quiet.

After dinner Arman retired to his office while his children cleared the table. The non-Pradeshes watched in confusion as they argued over who would have to sit next to Vander. Presca volunteered himself as tribute followed by Zen who was just confused.

"We're playing Uno," Emzadi explained.

"You know, somehow, I imagined you playing poker," Lucy said as she took the seat next to Zen. Kaleb pretended not to notice his siblings' pointed glares. "Ah. I understand."

"Just as well. I hate playing poker with Tink," Erik said.

"Why? She doesn't have a poker face," Emzadi said.

"Exactly. Instead she pretends to look sad or happy since she knows she can't pull off the blank face."

"I'm self-aware enough to know my _few_ flaws."

"Only a few?" Erik asked. Lucy started playing 'Crazy Frog' in her mind causing Erik and Farron to groan. Kaleb turned Lucy's head to kiss her and the music changed sex music.

"Not sure that's better," Farron muttered and was relieved when Lucy muffled the general sound of her thoughts. "Thank you." He dealt the cards.

For Meredy and Zen, Farron explained the rules. He added that they stacked the 'plus two' and 'plus four wild cards' since Vander had a knack for getting them. They thought he cheated but hadn't figured out how yet.

As they'd said, Vander seemed to have an unending stack of 'plus two' cards. Courtesy of stacking, a small pile got to Bickslow. He looked at Erik who was sitting next to him.

"No…" Erik said.

"Sorry, babe," he said, adding another 'plus two' to the pile.

"How many cards is that?" Emzadi asked.

"I think fourteen."

"Nope. Fuck this. I quit," Erik said, throwing his hand into the discard pile.

"That's usually how we knock people out," Kaleb admitted.

The game continued for a few more minutes before the next one folded. It was Laxus who ended up on the receiving end of his mate putting down a 'plus four wild card' and picking a color that he didn't have.

"Betrayed by your mate. Ouch," Vander teased. He jumped when Laxus shocked him.

"You know, maybe we shouldn't have allowed the mates to sit next to each other," Meredy commented.

"I was just thinking that," Lucy muttered, looking at the two men sulking.

Through a concerted effort by Kaleb, Lucy, Zen, Presca, and Xally managed to keep Vander out of the game by skipping and reversing around him for three turns. It only stopped when Xally nearly made Uno.

Anytime a majority of them had less than five, the game got petty. Lucy realized that she was the only one not saving her 'plus two' cards. Leading to another stack of fourteen ending up in front of her.

"So much for Lucky Lucy," she said with a laugh and shrug before adding the cards to the discard pile. She then climbed into Kaleb's lap. He only lasted another round before folding and carrying Lucy off to the teasing hoots of their family.

.~*~.

It was just after lunch that Lucy and Kaleb arrived at the house that they were renting for the Fairy Tail crew. Thane had given Lucy three options; she'd chosen the sturdy-looking brick building.

"It's still standing so that's something," Lucy commented to Laxus when he appeared.

"I'm withholding judgement until we see how the inside looks."

"You're not instilling a whole lot of confidence in these people," Emzadi said. "Is Rhiannon here?"

"Who knows? She doesn't carry a comm. I meditated outside hoping that she'd hear me," Lucy said.

"I did," Rhiannon said, making them jump. She smirked, a hint of fang showing. "Time tae catch up wi` th' others then? 'Ello, my Queen."

"Please don't. Just Lucy."

"Tis just th' slayers an' mates. They're around back."

The backyard of the house was large with a pool. The women were sitting on the pool deck while the men wrestled in the grass. Yukino had arrived earlier that day with her two dragons. As soon as Lucy walked in back, all of the dragon slayers stopped and turned to her.

"Hi," Lucy said with a small smile. "It's good to see everyone."

There was a low grumbling as the slayers recognized her as queen. It was soon joined by the five with her.

The mates, who'd been expecting a reaction like this, watched curiously. Charle and Panther Lily smiled while Happy looked confused. Lucy roared, accepting them. Acknowledging her role. Suddenly, Wendy, Natsu, Sting, Gajeel, and Rogue surged on her.

Cristoff almost moved to shield her but Kaleb grabbed him and shook his head. In the fray, Lucy giggled and Cristoff understood. They'd been around Lucy as she'd become a queen. Now, they needed to scent her. Imprint the scent of Lucy as a dragon slayer and as a queen.

What he didn't understand was why Rhiannon hadn't felt the same need. Like the others, she'd growled but she didn't feel the need to scent her.

"Okay. Okay. Let's go sit by the pool." Once everyone was situated, Lucy introduced everyone.

" _That's_ your mate?" Chelia said raking her eyes over Kaleb.

"Hey!" Wendy said, bumping her shoulder.

"Sorry, Love, but seriously."

Wendy giggled, kissing the head of the dragon on Chelia's shoulder to remind her who her mate was.

 _What's the cat's problem?_

Instinctively knowing that Kaleb was talking about Charle who definitely still showed signs of disapproval.

 _A stick up her ass. Also, I don't think she's entirely forgiven me for running interference for Wendy and her ex when they decided they were ready for sex._

 _Ah._

Lucy glanced at Natsu when he stood and walked away. Her eyes narrowed at the concerned look that Happy had as he watched his partner leave the group. She squeezed Kaleb's shoulder as she stood and followed him.

"Idiot," Gajeel muttered.

"Behave," Wendy and Levy both scolded.

"What's the story there?" Emzadi asked. "I mean, I know they were sleeping together."

"It's just…complicated," Levy said.

*.*.*

"Hey," Lucy said softly.

"Hey." Natsu breathed out a puff of smoke. "You're mated now."

"Yeah," she said, smiling at Kaleb's back. "Engaged too."

"I thought- I don't know what I was thinking."

"Do you ever?" She leaned against the stone wall bordering the property. "Why did you leave me behind?"

"You would've distracted me. I still thought about you a lot. I thought you'd be waiting."

"I thought about punching your face in. A lot. I think I hated you as much as I missed you."

"And now?"

"I still miss you, but I don't hate you. Everything needed to play out like this. I needed to find my way to Draco. Then to Kaleb. Mama used to say that fate is the journey that leads you to your destiny."

"Are you happy?"

"Like you in an all-you-can-eat buffet. Except with lots of amazing sex."

Both were silent for a beat before cracking up laughing. It reminded her of the first time she'd been around him during his heat. She'd freaked out and gotten magic-cancelling rope to use on him. Natsu pulled her into a hug. She could hear Kaleb's grumbling at the gesture.

"Come on."

"Was it your idea that we get shocked if we have a fight inside?" Natsu asked as they rejoined the group.

"Sounds like a Laxus thing."

"Freed knows me well," Laxus said.

 _All good?_

 _Yup._

"Rhiannon, since I'm assuming you're the one that sent the letters, why did all the dragon slayers need to be in Bosco?" Lucy asked.

"War is comin'. Acnologia an' Zeref ha'e teamed up."

"I can take 'em," Natsu said.

"No, ye cannae. It made th' most sense tae ha'e everybody 'ere."

 _She's not saying something,_ Lucy said.

 _With her, that's usually the case._

They spent the rest of the time catching up or getting to know each other. Rhiannon agreed to a threesome with the Twins with Yukino's permission. Emzadi was curious about Wendy claiming Chelia.

Lucy remembered just before it had happened. Wendy came to visit Lucy in Crocus about a month after Fairy Tail disbanded. She'd had her first heat and was conflicted since her dragon was urging her to claim Chelia. Lucy's response was to follow her heart and see what Chelia's response was.

With the guild reforming Levy was making arrangements for the wedding. That garnered promises to return to Fiore for fittings.

It started getting late enough that Mira called ahead to warn Lucy they were headed back. Only Mira seemed to appreciate that newly mated dragon slayers did not like being around potential challengers to their claim. Levy and Mira had both had to stop Erza from barging into White Sea a few times.

They were close enough that Lucy jumped them straight to the guildmaster mansion.

"You know, I wish I could strip you when we jump."

"War's coming?"

"Tomorrow's problem," Lucy said, pulling him down to kiss.

 _Kaleb, there are dragons attacking Malaren,_ Xally's voice said through the family link.

"You were saying?"


	35. Chapter 35

**I don't own Fairy Tail or the Pradesh family. But I do own Rhiannon and Emery.**

Xally walked out of the hospital, glad to see the sunlight for once. Then she was even more glad to see Presca leaning against a pole.

"What are you doing here?" she asked with a smile before kissing him.

"Surprising you."

"I like surprises. Especially when they fill out pants as well as you do." She reached behind him to grab his butt.

"Down. Come on. We have enough time for you to go home and change before the reservation."

"You made reservations?"

"Yes."

"What kind?"

"It's a surprise."

"I get that, but I need to know what to change into."

"Something to dance in."

The couple drove in separate cars to Xally's apartment near the hospital. She was so excited to see what he had in mind that she didn't try to seduce him once they were inside. She picked out a bluish-purple dress with lace over her abdomen, showed off a nice bit of cleavage, and a flared skirt that she enjoyed the feel of it swirling around her when she moved.

"You look beautiful," he said.

He'd made reservations at a jazz restaurant in Malaren. It was the next major city north of Pelerno. It competed with Venetia as the most romantic city in the country.

The restaurant had a live band that was performing. The tables were situated around the dance floor. It was lit by candles and twinkling lights that dangled from the ceiling.

"Wow," Xally murmured.

The last time she'd been on a date to a place like this, the food had been abysmal. This time, the food was as good as the environment.

She knew about his family. It was only after the Steel Council had been shut down that she'd found out how they died. She'd held him when he mourned their deaths. After finding out that she'd been the blackmail they'd held over Vander, and to an extent Presca, she'd wanted revenge for all of them. That wasn't what they talked about that night.

That night, they talked about their potential future. When he'd asked about marriage and children, she'd said that she wanted to wait until she was more secure in her position. That she hadn't decided if she wanted to stay at the hospital or move into a position at the guild hospital. Her interest in pediatrics had her considering staying at the hospital.

He admitted that he was still figuring out what his next steps were too. Vander liked spywork and was considering going back to the Steel Council because he knew that, occasionally, their work was for the greater good. Despite hating him at first, he couldn't imagine teaming up with anyone other than Vander.

After they finished eating, Xally pulled Presca him onto the dancefloor. She was giggling as he twirled her around. Sex was great, but it was these kinds of moments that she'd wanted. With a man that she'd known was as big a hopeless romantic as she was.

Knowing that she had to be up early the following day or her shift, Presca led her out with that reminder. They were walking towards the lake when they heard the first screams.

"Stay here," Presca said.

"Yeah, that's not happening," she said, slipping off her heels to run after him easier.

"I don't want you to get hurt. Not to mention, Van would-"

She kissed him. "If you'd like to do that again, shut up and run. 'Kay?"

He nodded though Xally would acknowledge that it may have been the additional screams that persuaded him. After all, she was primarily a healer.

Growing up around powerful mages, Xally had been in a few battlefields as a medic. The carnage around the square made bile rise. The bodies had gaping holes that were burned along the edges. If it wasn't an initial kill shot, the wounds would have bled just slow enough to give the victim the illusion of being able to make it to a healer.

"What could do this?" she muttered, pausing to examine an injury.

"Xally!"

"Go. Be careful," she said, squatting down to get a better look. She'd never seen anything like it. Knowing that the man was dead, she stood and ran after Presca.

Presca grabbed her as she nearly ran into one of the main streets. Walking down the street, shooting at anything that moved, were three creatures that looked like a cross between robots and dragons. The injuries made sense when considering the lasers.

A man wearing only loose pants followed the dragons. His hair was steel grey and his skin look metallic. Trailing behind him, making notes in a book, was a woman. She would watch the three dragon creatures for a moment before making a note.

"Are those-"

"Call your brother."

 _Kaleb, there are dragons attacking Malaren._

 _On my way,_ was Cristoff immediate response followed by Emzadi and Vander echoing it. It didn't surprise Xally not to hear Lucy or Kaleb. Kaleb was probably reminding her that the inaccuracies of her jumps would probably be problematic than good.

 _I'm nearby, too,_ was Zen's response.

 _Be careful,_ Arman said.

There was a scream and a wail of a child. Before Presca could stop her, Xally had run out of the alleyway and summoned a geyser of water to shoot at the dragon. The water propelled it away and Presca pulled the energy out of another. Even after disbursing the sheer amount of energy and magic in the dragonoid, he still found himself giddy, overdosing on its power.

The two that they'd attacked disappeared into dust. Before they could celebrate the apparent win, the man made a circular motion with his hand and two eggs appeared then the dragonoids hatched from them.

Zen landed in the street a couple minutes later. He'd started flying for at least an hour every day. It was almost like meditation. After getting lost, he'd made a point of memorizing a map of everything within a hundred-mile radius of Pelerno.

He'd felt Xally's magic first. There was a purity to it that made it easy to track. However, he'd felt another magic and knew that the mage had sensed him as well. He landed where he could get a decent look at the woman.

She was pretty, around Lucy's age, and curvy like all the women he knew. Her hair was a mixture of ash blonde and dusty purple. Her heart-shaped face wasn't made up, so he could see the dusting of freckles across her nose and cheeks. It was her eyes that captivated him the most. They were large and the same shade of brown as Lucy's.

Like him, she seemed to be studying him with a bemused look on her face.

"That's enough, Motherglare," the woman said.

"Excuse me?" the man said. "They're-"

"That's enough," she said lowly. "Do I need to remind you why you listen to me?"

"No," he replied then turned the dragonoids to dust.

"Return to Acnologia. I have another stop to make first." She charged a teleportation lacrima, handed it to the man, and watched as he disappeared. Then, with a smirk and an appraising look at Zen, she disappeared as well.

"What was that?" Xally said, running over.

"I don't know."

"You're late," Presca said when Vander finally arrived. Soon followed by Cristoff and Emzadi.

"Xally wasn't real specific about where you were," Vander said defensively.

"Sorry. I was more focused on the dragons."

 _Guys, knock it off_ , Lucy said.

 _Cris, Xally, walk in opposite directions and stop. Everyone else look for survivors and bring them to them. Meredy's handling the mages coming from Pelerno._

Xally looked around. As exhausting as these healings might be, she knew it would be worse if no one was brought to her.

.~*~.

"Emery?" August questioned when the lacrima dropped her in front of the gates of Vistarion Castle. "Was Zeref expecting you?"

Emery gave him a bland glare. "Does it matter?"

August pursed his lips but acknowledged that Zeref didn't want anyone to stop her on the occasions that she came to Alvarez. She was one of the many pieces on his ever-moving board.

As she walked into his library, she passed Invel who flinched slightly. The first time that they'd met, she had commented that she found him attractive. Acnologia had not taken kindly to that and attacked him. The dragon's immunity to most magic allowed him to nearly kill the ice mage.

"Zeref," she said, bowing her head slightly.

"Your first attack was planned for today. How did it go?" he asked gesturing for her to sit across from him.

"I think we left an impression," she replied. "There was something strange though."

"Strange how?"

"A mage came to fight us. He had black wings, feathered like an angel's. I felt something…" She pursed her lips. "My magic- the celestial magic- it _reacted_ to him."

Zeref frowned, his expression turning inquisitive, before standing and looking for a book. It took a few minutes but eventually he returned with a thick tome.

"Like this?" he asked, flipping to a drawing.

"Yes."

"Interesting… This is an archangel. That magic should be extinct now. At least, it was." Zeref's face split into a grin that sent a shiver down her spine. "I questioned him picking you, but this might work out better than I ever imagined. What will you tell Acnologia?"

Emery swallowed. "The truth. Most of it anyways."

"That's probably for the best."

"You didn't pick me because of the archangel, right?"

"No. You interested Acnologia," Zeref said.

She smiled and nodded slightly. "Good."

"Emery, I'll let you decide how you want to handle the archangel. But I want him. Either through you or the warqueen. Understand?"

Emery frowned. She hated the Joyan warqueens and their tactics. If she had her way, she'd raze both them and Pergrande to the ground. However, both countries were inclined to side with Alvarez under the condition of protecting their way of life. Potentially even expanding their slave trade.

Even though her contracts were broken, she carried her keys with her to protect the spirits from potentially becoming slaves to another master.

"I understand."

.~*~.

Lucy found Rhiannon in the guildhall, flirting with a couple.

"Sorry to interrupt," she said, pulling Rhiannon away from the crowds. "A town was attacked by what sounds like the little dragon-things that the large metal dragon that Future Rogue flew around on created when they attacked after the Grand Magic Games. Whatever scheme you're waiting to hatch, it's time."

Rhiannon's already fair skin seemed to get paler. "When will he get 'ere?"

Understanding who she was talking about, she said, "Got here a minute ago to debrief Kaleb."

It wouldn't be until the following day that Rhiannon managed to catch up to her mate.

The guildhall was abuzz with conversations about robotic dragons. There'd been twenty-three fatalities and another ten that healers managed to save. Something that had brought people hope was that not a single child was killed. Even parents seemed not to have been targeted. For most of them, it was still something separate. Something not real yet.

Vander was talking to Cana when Rhiannon found him. He smiled and waved her over.

"We need tae blether," she said without preamble.

"I'm busy."

She gave the card mage a cursory once over before saying, "We kin blether about sharing her efter. Come now."

"Rhia…"

"Ye'r my mate. Either ye come willing or I will throw ye ower my shoulder."

Vander gawked at her.

"Come now."

He followed her, half waiting for the punchline of the joke. Once outside, she took his hand, for the first time feeling the pull to mate, and shifted them to her island.

Her house had no floors. The walls were made of light wood meant only to keep the rain out of the house. The inside had most of the amenities he'd expect but it was one large room. Meant for someone that lived alone and had no intention on having guests.

When she looked up at him, for the first time, he saw a hint of vulnerability. They got along well, but there was always a detachment in her reactions. Except, maybe, when she came.

"A'm sorry. A'd hoped there'd be awa' aroond this bit- A'm sorry," she said, her accent becoming thick.

He cupped her face and kissed her. Though he'd teased her about being his wing woman or enjoyed threesomes with her, he'd never attempted to push harder because he could recognize someone that was using sex as a distraction. He'd been there more than a few times himself. When he needed that distraction, he always made a point of going for someone who wouldn't expect anything from him.

In that moment, he could feel her. Could feel the sincerity that always seemed to be lacking. Next thing he knew, he was shoving her dress off and letting his shadow leather disappear. He fell onto her bed with her hovering above him.

"Do ye submit?"

"Yes."

He saw the tears in her eyes.

"I'm sorry," she repeated before sinking her teeth into the juncture of his neck and allowing his erection to enter her.

*.*.*

Vander felt like he was suffocating. It almost felt like the Voids but without the sensation of hope or love. Throughout all his time in the Voids, it was knowing that his family was on the other side that helped him through the darkness.

The darkness faded and was replaced by scenes.

Rhiannon being attacked by children and adults when her draconic features started to appear. Years of isolation with nothing but the earth and plants to keep her company. The few months in her youth that she spent with Nurem and Draco were a bright spot amongst the loneliness.

She was surrounded by dead men. Her clothes were disheveled. The men showed signs of her magic attacking him. Vander watched as she went home only to be turned away by her father because of her magic. The magic he'd forced upon her.

As suffocating as her earlier isolation had been, it became a physical weight that he honestly thought he was going to be crushed by.

Going to Bosco had been the act of a woman who believed the world was ending. She took pleasure to distract herself. Even now, she took pleasure because she didn't think they'd win. She claimed him because she needed to.

He felt every wound as she tried to survive against Acnologia. Felt her bones move awkwardly in her skin with each shift. Knowing that as long as she touched the earth, she could shift but not knowing if Acnologia might catch up eventually. Surviving him had led her home again. Her mother found her half-dead behind their house. The most she'd do was bandage her wounds outside and give her some food to take with her.

The earth was cold but constant. To survive alone, she'd become the earth.

"I'm so sorry."

*.*.*

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry," she kept repeating, her face streaked with tears.

"That's not usually the reaction women have with me."

She chuckled. The sound was watery, but he smiled. "Oh, I ken. I was surprised how muckle that one guy came."

He laughed. "I remember that." He watched as the veil came down on her face. "Don't. Only one of us can afford to be a fucked-up bastard at a time." Her eyes widened slightly, and he pulled her close to kiss. "Also, ease up on the accent. I know you only keep it because you want to go back."

"I dinnae-" She sighed. "Fine."

"Has the bite set?"

"No."

"Good." He flipped her over and started moving down her body. When his mouth reached the juncture of her thighs, she moaned.

"Fuck."

"That's the plan."

"Better use for your mouth."

He bit her thigh lightly, making her laugh before moaning again.

.~*~.

Lucy stood on the balcony of the guildmaster suite staring at the stars. It had been a long day. Going to the memorial in Malaren with Kaleb had been the first time she'd worn white as the Mistress of White Sea. At least it meant that no one propositioned her or Kaleb anymore though there'd been more than a few speculative looks. However, it meant that everyone in the guild wanted to get to know her and she couldn't run away.

She smiled when she felt Kaleb's arms wrap around her and snuggled into his chest.

"What are you thinking about?" he asked.

"Stuff. The mage that caught Zen's attention. Cassi thinks it must be a celestial mage."

"I thought the point of Andromeda's key was to shield him."

"From the compulsion but not the instinct to recognize celestial mages."

"She could control dragons?"

"Like the version of Rogue from the future. It's got present day Rogue worried." Lucy giggled. "Actually, most of them are annoyed that they can't shift like us and missed the fight."

"How long until the bite finishes setting?"

"Tomorrow will be three days so assuming that Van doesn't talk her into staying in bed with him, we'll see them then."

"Good. Dad's chomping at the bits to meet her."

"That'll be fun."

"Come to bed."

She looked up at him with a coy smile. "Can I be on top?"

"Short of an X-frame, you can have me anywhere." He kissed her and lifted her up so that her legs wrapped around his waist and carried her to bed.


	36. Chapter 36

**You guys are amazing!**

 **I don't own the Star Wars quote that is admittedly so overused it's kind of cliché. Or** ** _Wizard of Oz._** **There's a lot of pop culture references in this…**

 **As always, I don't own FT or the Pradesh family.**

"They're an interesting pair," Arman said, sitting down next to Lucy on the second floor of the guildhall. Following the attack in Malaren, Arman had decided that it was better if he came to them in White Sea versus them going to Pelerno.

"I know."

Rhiannon and Vander were sitting at an elevated table in the bar area of the first floor. They'd been in one of the privacy booths together with another mage. It wasn't how Arman had thought they'd be when he'd found out his youngest son had been claimed by a dragon slayer.

*.*.*

 _"_ _Hi," Arman greeted Rhiannon, kissing her cheek. Before getting there, Vander had warned him about her relationship with her own father as well as how skittish she might be._

 _"_ _Hi."_

 _Unable to resist, he swept her up in a hug. She stood frozen with a terrified look at Vander and Lucy._

 _"_ _Welcome to the family," he said, cupping her cheeks._

*.*.*

"They're kinda perfect for one another though," Lucy said. "He's not ready to settle down. And Rhia never planned to take a mate. She doesn't have as much the territorial instinct that the rest of us have. It gives him a freedom he wouldn't have had with _any_ of the rest of us."

"Am I going to get grandbabies out of them?"

"Probably not for a while," she said with a smile at him.

"And you, daughter-in-law?"

"We're going to be fighting dragons and you're asking me if I'm planning on having children in the immediate future?"

Arman frowned. "I suppose not."

"And sorry, but Levy thinks that with a queen in place, no one will be impregnated until I am."

"Is that so?" His brow furrowed when he saw her smile. "There's one already pregnant, isn't there?"

"Hm…" was all she'd say.

"Will you at least tell me if any of my children are pregnant?"

"They're not," she acknowledged. "She should start noticing the symptoms soon."

He turned his attention back to Vander and Rhiannon. "I'm surprised you're giving them this time. I know you've been antsy with the string of attacks."

She didn't say anything. So far, most hadn't realized the connection between the strings of attacks similar to the one in Malaren. Theirs in Bosco and one in Fiore had been the least devastating. Seven had lost over three hundred to them. Farron's trip to Desierto had been postponed following an attack there.

"Nobody else has noticed the pattern."

Kaleb had created a program on her tablet that automatically added a marker for any similar attacks once she realized the pattern after an attack in Seven. It was still up on her tablet.

"I wouldn't say that. Farron's been quelling fires amongst concerned ambassadors for the last three days."

"She needed a chance to figure out her relationship with Van," Lucy said softly. "We're meeting up with the other slayers tonight."

"You're relying on her a lot for this."

"I have to. She knows Acnologia better than any of us."

.~*~.

Zen had decided to fly home from White Sea after lunch with his family. He was flying over the forests that separated Pelerno from Malaren when he felt it. His father didn't know about him flying to Acadame Celestine after Lucy had given him Andromeda's key. Even separated from her key holder, Andromeda was able to summon herself to talk to him. It had been her idea to see if he could learn the different magical signatures of the various types of celestial mages.

Andromeda was his first friend. She was the only one that didn't constantly tell him to slow down. Instead, she listened to his need to push himself. That's why, when she did tell him to slow down, he tended to listen. Such as her telling him that he should wait to go to Acadame Celestine with his father. The flying meditation was his idea, but she always warned him not to fly too far from home.

*.*.*

 _Andromeda's double whip defense ricocheted his sharpened feathers back at him. That had always been one of his sure-fire attacks. To nearly have it kill him… He gritted his teeth as they hit his wings. He was the Dark Eagle, the most lethal gladiator in Skys Reach._

 _"_ _You're not trying hard enough," she said, the whips disappearing as she put her hands on her hips._

 _It was also disconcerting to be told off by a twelve-year-old._

 _"_ _According to Grandpa Crux, you should be able to heal and to create a flaming sword. Or convert a normal sword into a flaming one. The books aren't especially clear on that."_

 _"_ _I'm trying."_

 _"_ _Do or do not. There is no try." She summoned a sword from Perseus's armory and tossed it to him. "Again."_

 _Ultimately, he was glad his siblings were busy because they would never have let him live down how many times he'd had his ass handed to him by a twelve-year-old girl that was less than half his size regardless of the fact that she was a thousand year old spirit._

*.*.*

He landed in the clearing where the woman from Malaren sat. On the chain around his neck, he could feel Andromeda's key heating up as she tried to warn him away. He gripped it to let her know that he received her warning.

"This seems a little out of the way if you're trying to kill people," he said. Once again, he noticed that she was beautiful. She'd chosen a Boscan style of dress with translucent covering over bra and leggings. He hated how easily he was physically attracted to her.

"Never said that was the goal."

"Then what was the point of Malaren?"

"A demonstration? To make a point?" She shrugged. "I didn't make that decision."

"But you're the reason why there was no dead children." He watched as she flinched at that. Someone had not been pleased with that. "Why are you here?"

"To talk."

"You can't compel me," he said, feeling the key on his chest heat up.

"Who said that was what I was here to do? Don't get me wrong-" she stood up and dusted herself off- "I am here for you. But you'll come with me on your own."

"No, I won't," he said, resisting the urge to watch how the covering shifted on her body. His daily Sudahpah lessons were apparently not enough.

"What reason do you have to stay?" she asked. She walked up to him but was careful to not come close enough to touch.

"I have family. Why would I give up my freedom to go with you?"

"Are you sure you're free? Or did you give up one cage for an admittedly more gilded one?"

"No."

"Society. Familial expectations. Are you truly free to be you?" A slow smirk crossed her face. "I bet they changed you, didn't they? Are you still the fearsome Dark Eagle?"

"That's not who I want to be."

"And who do you want to be? The man that lost his woman to his brother," she scoffed.

"How do you know so much?"

She smiled widely, and he saw the sharpened canines of a dragon slayer. "I have my ways."

"I should kill you where you stand for Malaren."

"Maybe, but you won't. Even if your magic allowed it, your heart never would." She stepped away from him. "You'll come with me."

"No, I won't."

"I didn't say this time." Her lips pursed at a thought. "But trust me when I say, I'm the lesser of two evils."

"I don't trust you."

"Smart man. I'll be back here in two days. Like I said, I'm the lesser of two evils." She pulled out the teleportation lacrima and disappeared.

.~*~.

Rhiannon stood in the back of the living room of the Fairy Tail house as Lucy had started calling it. All the slayers were present. Chelia, Levy, and Vander were the only mages present that weren't dragon slayers. Lucy had muttered that she'd really need to spend time with the others before they got too antsy. Or caused trouble.

"You're nervous," Vander commented.

"Shut up," she retorted. Her accent was still noticeable and still distinctly Caelish, but it was no longer so thick that it kept people from trying to talk to her. Vander made a mental note to ask Farron to teach him Caelish since he'd learned that his new mate talked in her sleep.

He yanked her down into his lap. "Why are you nervous?"

"Because what we're about to do is dangerous."

"Which you won't tell me though I can't decide if it's because you think I'll try to talk you out of it or not."

"Ye like dangerous. Ye'll probably enjoy it," she muttered.

He kissed the back of her neck softly. "Probably," he said, smiling when his breath sent a shiver down her spine. "We should talk about handcuffs."

"Hm. On ye or me?"

"Either."

Lucy walked over to them and plopped down next to them on the couch. "How ya feeling? Are you ready?"

"As ready as I'll ever be," Rhiannon muttered. She stood and Vander whistled for everyone's attention. Rhiannon and Lucy both shot him a grateful smile. "I don't think the original dragon parents are dead."

The sounds from Natsu, Gajeel, and Sting were loud while Wendy and Rogue silently gawked.

"Well, not Weislogia and Skiadrum. I'm sorry. The earth knows everything and there are nae remains for Igneel, Grandeeney, or Metalicana anywhere on Earthland." She looked at Lucy. "I think Draco can explain it better."

Lucy summoned Draco. The spirit looked around before his gaze settled on Rhiannon.

"It's time, isn't it?"

"Aye."

"Four hundred years ago, a plan was made to defeat Acnologia. The dragons that supported cohabitation with humans were dwindling. Acnologia's rampage turned dragons who originally sided with us to the other side. Many considered him proof that dragons and humans couldn't cohabitate. When the dragons that still sided with us fell, we caught a piece of their souls, of their magic, in lacrimas." Draco's gaze stopped on each of the second-generation dragon slayers.

"As a precaution, the dragons shared our instinct to mate. Acnologia and his generation didn't have that compulsion. It's also why most of you didn't claim other dragon slayers. The idea was to give the slayers someone that could ground them. To remind them to be human."

"What does this have to do with Igneel being alive?" Natsu demanded.

Draco turned to Lucy. "Igneel's whelp?"

"Yup."

"Five orphans were trained in dragon slaying magic. There wasn't enough ethernano in the air so when it came time, these children would be sent into the future. To keep Acnologia from destroying the world in the interim, the five dragon parents concocted a plan to trap him. Weislogia and Skiadrum used their life force to create a pocket dimension before having their two slayers kill them to ensure that their magic would end up in the lacrimas they placed in you. Igneel, Grandeeney, and Metalicana managed to trap Acnologia in that pocket dimension. But even they knew that it would only be a matter of time before Acnologia broke free."

"How do we get to this pocket dimension?" Gajeel asked through clenched teeth.

"That's where I come in. An' Vander," Rhiannon said. "I've been working on this for years." She picked up a jar with blue and white powder inside. "This is powdered lacrima an' ethernano crystals. Gajeel, Wendy, an' Natsu will breathe into the jar an' charge the crystals. These will act as a compass directing us to the proper pocket dimension."

"Are we all going?" Wendy asked.

"No," Vander said. "I can only take one person at a time and Rhia will tether me back to Earthland so that I don't end up in another realm."

"Why did we need to be here?" Sting asked.

"Acnologia is as tied to that dimension as any of yer dragons. He'll sense our presence there."

"Will he attack White Sea?" Cristoff asked. "Should we do this somewhere else?"

"I dinnae think it'll matter. Zeref wants to conquer Ishgar and he's using Acnologia to soften us up."

"How much of their plan do you know?" Meredy asked.

Cristoff, who was standing behind Meredy, stroked his hands down her arms and intertwined their fingers. He knew that Grimoire Hearts' actions on Tenrou Island were part of how they got there. Once they'd found out that Acnologia and Zeref had partnered, she'd started having nightmares. He knew that she was waiting for him to blame her.

"Don't," he whispered.

"Not enough," Rhiannon said. "Acnologia knows enough of my abilities to know to have most of his conversations inside. Or, more often than nae, through Emery."

"Emery? Is that the woman from Malaren?" Cristoff asked.

"Most likely. She kind of just appeared one day by his side. I dinnae kin a lot about her."

"Hey! Can we do this already? I wanna see Igneel," Natsu interrupted.

Rhiannon and Lucy shared a look of exasperation. Vander pulled the jar out of Rhiannon's hands and passed it to Lucy who nodded to him before pulling her outside.

He paced for a moment before asking, "You chose me because of my magic. Because of this plan, didn't you?"

"Yes an' no," she acknowledged. "I chose ye because ye were the most compatible. If I had to take a mate, I'd rather it be you than the others."

Vander cupped her cheeks between his hands. "I want to be in love with you." Her eyes widened as he pressed his forehead to hers. "Ours will never be Kaleb and Lucy or Cris and Meredy- I lost where I was going with that."

"Are ye saying nae more threesomes?"

"I'm saying maybe we should spend some time figuring out _our_ relationship. And then we'll get back to our kinks."

"Kinks?"

"I have a few things in mind for just you and me."

Rhiannon pulled him down to kiss.

"You hash it out?" Lucy said from the doorway.

"Go away," Rhiannon said.

"Can't. It's ready."

Vander watched as a hint of green colored her face before she started to affect her usual apathy. "That. Don't hide that from me."

After the three dragon slayers had charged the powder, Draco showed Lucy the magic circle that needed to be made. It was a circle within a circle with three lines connecting the two circles. Wendy, Gajeel, and Natsu were standing just outside the outer circle where the lines intersect the rim. The inner circle was filled with the crushed crystals.

Vander and Rhiannon stepped into the inner circle, careful to not disturb the powder. He wrapped his arm around her waist and shifted them into the Voids

The Voids were a dark place with creatures just off to the side waiting to devour any unsuspecting travelers. It had taken Vander years to learn to traverse the Voids without being taken. The powder had created a white path of light for them to follow. It seemed to scare the Void creatures away because, for once, he didn't hear them lurking just off to the side.

"Follow the yellow brick road."

Rhiannon gave him a bemused look. "It's neither brick nor yellow."

"You know, on second thought, we're going to have to have a movie marathon because if you don't get my- and you were teasing, weren't you?"

" _Wizard of Oz_ came out before either of us were born. Even I saw it as a bairn."

"You're evil. I love it."

Rhiannon blushed. "C'mon."

They followed the path for a while. It was hard to gauge the passage of time in the Voids, but Vander knew he'd never spent this much time there. The further they went, the more he wanted to turn back. The more he felt weirdly scared.

"We're gettin' far from Earthland," Rhiannon said softly. "Yer instincts are tellin' ye we're gettin' too far."

"Will we be able to get back?" he asked, glancing at the path.

"As long as they dinnae break the circle, the path will remain. Lucy knows that."

The path finally disappeared into the pocket dimension. They stepped onto a stone altar. Carved into the stone was a magic circle that was marred by deep gouges that looked like claw marks and ethernano that had exploded from the center with such force that they'd been forced into the stone.

The area around the altar had been split into three realms: one of fire, one of metal, and one of trees and air. In the fire and metal, there were two large skeletons that could only be from Igneel and Metalicana.

"I felt somebody's presence," a soft voice said. The woman was fair skinned with pink hair, dark red eyes, and nude.

"Say it an' ye'll be sexless," Rhiannon muttered at her mate. "You're Grandeeney, aren't you?" she asked the woman.

"Yes. I'm sorry. I took this form to conserve my strength. You're a slayer, aren't you?"

"Yes. I carry Zothrizel's lacrima."

She nodded and walked over to Rhiannon. "Is Wendy- How is my Wendy?"

"Grown. She has a mate."

Grandeeney smiled. "Good. I'm glad." She took Rhiannon's hand and gave her three lacrima. In the clear stones, she could see wisps of the dragons' magic. "They're not much, but they're our last messages to our children."

"You can come back with us," Vander said.

Grandeeney shook her head. "I don't have the strength to make it back. She would only get to bury me. I wish to remain with Igneel and Metalicana."

"What happened here?"

"When Acnologia broke free, we tried to keep him here. We failed." She looked at her two dragon kin. "Is there a Tatsu?"

"Yes."

Grandeeney leaned in close to smell Rhiannon. "You're not the queen. Did Igneel's boy-"

"No. Draco's slayer," Rhiannon said, finding her voice.

"Oh. That is unexpected. Is it strong?"

"It's young."

"Make it strong. And then fight. And make sure Wendy survives."

"We will," Vander promised.

The air dragon picked up a smaller piece of ethernano, closed her eyes, and charged it. Rhiannon watched as the blue stone turned black before being shot through with white. "This is for the queen. It holds my memories of our plan and of the war. It may grant her knowledge that even Draco doesn't have. It is time."

Grandeeney walked into her own realm and transformed back into a dragon.

"C'mon. I dinnae think this dimension will hold once she breathes her last."

Vander nodded and pulled her back into the Voids. They were approximately halfway back when they noticed that the path was flickering.

"What's going on?"

"Something must be happening at the house."

They started running down the path. They'd barely tumbled back into Earthland when Natsu broke the circle and ran outside.

"Natsu!" Wendy and Levy yelled.

"Where's the dragons?" Gajeel demanded. He frowned when Rhiannon shook her head. Then he ran out past Levy as well.

The group ran outside where Acnologia was swatting away their attacks like they were gnats buzzing around his head. It was only Cristoff and Chelia's abilities to heal in the battlefield that most of the mages were still standing. When Rhiannon ran out of the house and Acnologia saw her, his gaze shifted to where Erik and Laxus were instinctively standing in front of Lucy.

Acnologia smirked. "Keep things interesting, won't you?" he asked before disappearing.

"What was that?" Lucy asked, rounding on Rhiannon.

"I told ye we'd met."

"That was more than that. He _let_ us live," Lucy said.

"Aye. What Acnologia wants most in life is a challenge."

"He won't kill us-"

"-Until we're fun to kill. Aye."

"Where are the dragons?" Laxus asked.

"Dead," Vander said. "We met Grandeeney but she knew she was too weak to make it back and wanted to remain with her kin."

"Here," Rhiannon said, passing the three lacrimas to the slayers. When the lacrimas touched their skin, they each collapsed. "Okay. Didn' know that was gonna happen."

Laxus, Cristoff, and Vander carried the three unconscious slayers up to their respective rooms with Levy and Chelia trailing after them.

"This one is for you," Rhiannon said, passing the ethernano crystal to Lucy. Both watched to see if she'd faint as well. "She said it held all her memories of the war and of their plan tae kill Acnologia."

Lucy was pensive as she stared at the stone. "What were the lacrimas?"

"Final goodbyes."

"He's gonna step up his attacks, isn't he?"

"I dinae ken. It'll also depend on Zeref an' he's careful."

"I want you and Van on reconnaissance. Zeref might be careful, but someone in his camp isn't. I also want to know about Emery."

"What about you?" Rhiannon asked.

"I'll be doing something far more unpleasant. Getting them to work as a team."

Rhiannon chuckled. "Better ye than me."

Vander returned to the porch first. "We free?"

"For now. I think ye should be tied up first."

"Silk or handcuffs?" he asked as he pulled her into a Void jump to his house.

Lucy stood quietly. She sensed Cristoff and Laxus leave. Could feel the absence of their mates from the property. She could faintly feel the wiggly mass in Levy's womb.

"Seriously?" Erik asked.

"Say anything and you'll lose the other eye," Lucy said without opening her eyes.

"Harsh, Tink. Harsh. Is that why you wouldn't let her come outside?"

"Yes." She opened her eyes and started walking inside.

"Where are you going?"

"Natsu. He shouldn't be alone right now."

 _Are you okay?_ Kaleb asked.

 _Yes. Just tired. How's flight training?_

She smiled when he wouldn't respond. _It's nice to know there's something that you're not perfect at._

She sat down on the bed next to Natsu and stroked his head. He rolled into her and she let him cry into her lap.

.~*~.

Zen landed at home. He'd gone to the public Pelerno bathhouse as well as the guild one. All he'd accomplished was a string of exhausted bath attendants. His father's flight from White Sea was going to be late enough that Mr. Elan had made soup that could easily be reheated before leaving for the night. After a cold shower that Bickslow had recommended for unsatisfied arousal, he fell into bed.

"That was stupid," Andromeda said.

He didn't open his eyes to look at her but felt the bed sink as she sat down. "Yeah. Probably. Especially with- That's not a reaction to her magic."

"Her contracts are broken. She's a hereditary mage, like Lucy, which why she still _feels_ like a celestial mage. But, you're right. She was careful not let that magic affect you. This is something…more."

"I'm attracted to her."

Andromeda stood. "I know."

He opened his eyes and turned to look at his friend. It was only when she'd stood that he'd registered the extra weight on his bed. He knew that Andromeda chose the child-like form to annoy her mother but the sight of her as an adult shocked him.

Half of her strawberry-blonde hair was in a bun while the rest cascaded down her back. Her face was lightly made up and dark blue eyes watched his face as she untied her belt and unclipped her peplos. The tan fabric fell at her feet.

"What are you doing?" he asked, unable to stop his gaze from taking in her naked form.

"Helping a friend."

"You're married."

"We've been married for over a thousand years. We've taken other lovers from time to time when we get bored. And he knows exactly what I'm doing. I have his consent." She crawled into bed next to him. "Show me how Boscans share pleasure. Show me what you've learned."

She kissed him. If there'd been some shyness, some hint of guilt, he might've stopped himself. Instead, he found himself rolling them over and feeling his magic purr as he followed her lead.


	37. Chapter 37

**Come to the dark side. We have cookies.**

 **I don't own FT or the Pradesh family.**

"Hey," Kaleb said, joining Lucy in the observation room of the obstacle course training ground.

"Hey," she replied turning around to hug him. "What are you doing here?"

"Well, my mate came home last night and fell asleep before I could ask her how her day went. And I didn't get much time with her this morning, so I thought I'd return the favor of reminding her to eat lunch."

"Huh?" she said, reaching for Horologium's key. "Shit. I'm surprised Natsu didn't remind me it was lunch time."

"How's it going?"

"Sting and Rogue, Emi and Laxus, they obviously work well together. It's everybody else," she groaned, gesturing to them. "Emi and Natsu, oddly enough, work well together. Cris works well with anyone. Wendy too. Gajeel and Erik agree on one thing which is that they pretty much hate everyone else. Sting and Rogue still hero worship Gajeel and Natsu which you'd have thought they'd have gotten over by now. And when I try to pair with _any_ of them, they go into 'protect the queen' mode which is getting really old really fast."

"Feel better?"

"Little bit." She turned on the intercom and said, "All right. Wrap it up for lunch. Be back here in two hours. If you can, snag your mates, please."

"What are you thinking?"

"That maybe teams of four would work better. I need to talk to Gajeel and Levy first though."

"They're the first, huh?"

"Yeah. She was pregnant before I officially became queen which is why I think she's been dismissing the signs. The books say dragonesses could only become pregnant after their queen."

"We're going to have lots of our own, right?"

"I hated being an only child so yeah, probably." She looked up at him with a coy smile. "I said two hours. It'll take us less than one to eat. Maybe we should practice."

"Are you trying to seduce me?"

"Always." She jumped them to their apartment before kissing him. It had been embarrassing how bad her aim was when she was distracted. Luckily, it had just been a view of Bickslow and Erik that she could've done without.

.~*~.

Emery was sitting in the cemetery when she felt the chill. She knew that he'd wait until she said anything, so she pretended not to notice Invel's presence behind her.

She was at her parents' graves. It was where she went when she was avoiding Acnologia because he understood grieving. He'd admitted that it had taken him some time to accept his parents' deaths in a dragon attack. It had been what led him to becoming a dragon slayer in the first place.

"What did you do to piss Zeref off?" she asked after a few minutes.

"What do you mean?" Invel asked.

"He sent you to watch over me even though we both know what Acnologia will do if he sees you."

Invel walked over and sat next to Emery. Seeing her flowers, he encased them in ice that would make them last longer. "He sent me because he knows you like me best. He was worried."

"He wasn't worried. That's not the right word."

He sighed. "He knows that children weren't part of the agreement."

Invel watched as her jaw clenched. The news had finally started connecting the attacks. In three that Emery hadn't supervised, over fifty children had been killed. He could see that she'd cried for those children.

"No, they weren't."

"They weren't targeted." She gave him a withering glare. "I know. What of the archangel?"

"I'm supposed to see him today. I won't claim him."

"Lord Zeref may take it out of your hands if you can't sway him."

"If he shows today, it'll mean I have enough pull to sway him."

"That might not be enough. Brandish got a hold of a White Sea mage. Their guildmaster is an archangel now. The Joyans have very effective ways of swaying a man. And she has active contracts."

"And he's mated to a dragon queen. He's also a wizard saint."

Invel smiled darkly and said, "There's always ways around things like that. And who better than Joyans to find them." Emery stood. "Whether you like it or not, that's the truth of the position we're in."

"I don't like it. But more importantly, I've got a date with an angel."

*.*.*

While sharing pleasure with Andromeda had certainly helped, Zen still wanted to see Emery. It was an antsy feeling and he could feel the key burning against his chest. The weight of the magazine seemed heavier with each passing second.

Emery was sitting on a blanket with a basket and food. She smiled when he landed. "I wasn't sure you'd come. Cookie?"

He dropped the magazine in front of her. Emblazoned across the front were the words: More than a thousand deaths in series of attacks throughout Ishgar.

"I'll take that as a no." She bit into the cookie she'd held out to him.

"Why?"

"Because I had to."

"And the children?"

Her jaw clenched, and she didn't try to meet his glare. "Acnologia and Motherglare did that. It wasn't supposed to happen."

Zen scoffed.

"How dare you judge me?" she demanded as she stood. "Do you judge the others in your house so harshly? How much blood do you have on your hands, Dark Eagle?"

"I had to kill to survive. What do you get out of this?"

"Do you wanna know the scariest thing about me is? Unlike you, I'm the product of a happy childhood. My parents were mages. My dad died on a job when I was twelve, but he wasn't around much to begin with… My mom was my best friend. We had a good life. Until one day, a dark guild captured my mother, drained her of her magic, and sealed her in a cocoon that kept her on the brink of death for a month."

"I'm sorry for your loss, but what does this have to do with anything? Much less my family."

"Your little brother mated one of them. The dark mages, I mean."

"Erik…"

She gave him a feral grin. "I want justice. Acnologia is helping me get it."

"That isn't justice. It's revenge."

"A rose by any other name still smells as sweet."

"There's gotta be a better way."

"Really? Like what?"

"Like accepting that he changed. That he's remorseful."

"Is he? Or are you just trying to save me?"

"Both."

"I don't need you to save me. I have a mate for that."

His eyes widened. "Acnologia?"

She gave him a confused look. "Does that surprise you?"

"Yes. You don't feel claimed. I know how that should feel."

"I'd become like him if we fully mated." She smiled. "We're waiting until the world is ours."

"You really think that you'll win?"

"Yes. I'd like you to join us."

"Why?"

"Why not?" she replied with a shrug. "I told you before, wouldn't you like to taste true freedom?"

"No. Someone's pulling your strings, aren't they? Is it Zeref or Acnologia?"

"Smart man," she muttered softly. "Zeref, but I'd prefer to avoid his tactics."

"Which are?"

"Torture. Slavery. I'd rather have an ally. A friend. I told you before, I'm the lesser of two evils. And I dread to think what they'll do to that key around your neck."

"Back off," Andromeda said, summoning herself to Zen's side. Looking at Emery, her eyes widened. "Of course," she murmured.

Emery's eyes narrowed before she turned back to Zen. "I'll see you in two days. You should eat the cookies. It was my mom's recipe."

As much as Zen wanted to say that he wouldn't be, he knew that wasn't true. Not because she compelled him, but because she was asking him.

.~*~.

"Hey," Lucy said, stopping Gajeel and Levy before they entered the training ground. "There's a great bakery just down the road. Let's talk for a second."

"Why?" Levy said, hands on her hips.

"We can't talk just the three of us?"

"We can, but you always insist on being somewhere public and preferably around food when you have bad news."

"It's not bad. Just…complicated."

"Lu..." "Bunny girl…" both of them said threateningly.

"You're pregnant!" she said with her eyes closed before slowly opening them. "Sorry. I didn't mean to blurt that out. I had a whole spiel planned and- Why are you looking at me like that?" she asked realizing they were both looking at her with expressions that were a cross between shock and horror.

"But I can't be pregnant. Not until you are. That's what all the books say."

"One, technically those books are about dragons and not dragon slayers. Secondly, you were pregnant before I became queen."

"But that means-"

"That you're probably around six weeks and should start noticing the morning sickness. Yeah."

"Gihihi. And you we're wondering why you'd been feeling so sick lately."

Levy looked ready to puke. "I need a second opinion."

"Cris and Wendy are both inside already."

The script mage ran inside without another word. She skidded to a stop in front of where Cristoff, Wendy, and Chelia were talking.

"Should you be running like that in your condition?" Cristoff asked.

"It's true?" she whispered before promptly running over to a trash can and puking up her lunch.

Cristoff walked up behind her and rubbed circles on her back. He arched an eyebrow when Gajeel made a growling noise before realizing the moon dragon slayer was using his magic to ease her morning sickness. "I'm sorry. I assumed you knew since you're coming up on two months."

"Oh. That's what the scent is?" Wendy asked.

"You knew too?" Levy demanded, wiping her mouth.

"There was a weird scent, but I hadn't realized that's what it was. I've never had the opportunity to be around it and ask," Wendy said apologetically.

"It's all right. You still have time to learn," Cristoff said.

"Why don't we go watch from the observation room?" Lucy said softly.

"Okay. Make sure he pays for doing this to me," Levy said, giving Erik and Bickslow a pointed look.

"This should be fun," Erik said while Bickslow had a tongue-wagging grin.

"Lucy," Cristoff said, stopping her with a hand on her shoulder. "Where's Kaleb?"

"There's so many teams out right now on general patrol… Getting him to take the time to do flying lessons with Zen is hard enough. I didn't want to ask."

"You two need to learn a rhythm when sparring too."

"I know. Do you think you and Meredy might be free for an hour or so after dinner?"

"Probably. You're buying drinks though. When are the rest of Fairy Tail leaving?"

"The dragons and mates are staying. But everyone else is set to leave day after tomorrow."

"Have you taken the time to hang out with them?"

Lucy puffed out her cheeks. "Not as much as I should have. But, in my defense, it's been kinda hectic."

"And we all might die so it might do you some good to at least go out to dinner before they leave."

"I hate when you're being the voice of reason."

"That's why I'm your knight," Cristoff said, kissing her temple before nudging her towards the stairs.

"Yeah, but I already get that from your brother."

The Fiorian dragon slayers gawked at the gesture, their gazes bouncing between them and Meredy, who was entirely nonplussed. Wendy was the only one who looked at Natsu. The fire dragon slayer was glaring at the ground and kicking up dust.

Wendy went to go to him but Chelia stopped her.

"He has to learn that their dynamics changed," Chelia said quietly.

"But-" Wendy sighed. She knew her mate was right and kissed her softly. "He's kin though."

"Gajeel, since you're temporarily mate-less, you're teamed up with Natsu," Lucy said over the intercom.

"What?" both men yelled.

"On second thought," Wendy said as Chelia giggled.

"Do I need to come down there and kick both of your asses?"

"No…"

"That's what I thought. Hmph."

.~*~.

"That's Mirajane Strauss," Rhiannon said, eyeing the model from Fairy Tail. She and Vander were waiting in the guild for Lucy to call it a night from sparring with the other dragon slayers.

"Okay?"

"We should see if she wants to join us for a bit."

"Didn't we _just_ have a conversation on trying to figure out our relationship without other people?" Vander asked.

"But it's Mirajane Strauss. They're all leavin' in a few days. Who's to say we're going to get another chance?"

He smiled at the fact that while her Boscan was still awful, her more affected accent had diminished and he found the mixture of the musical lilt and the rougher consonants was rather sexy.

"No more third parties."

"Are ye tellin' me that ye dinae try get in her dress before we were mated?" Vander glanced at the mage. Yes, she was beautiful, and he had a new appreciation for her cerulean blue eyes.

"Not the point. Besides, she's Fiorian. She might not swing your way."

"There's no harm in askin'."

The couple was so busy arguing the merits of seducing the mage that they didn't notice Lucy, Bickslow, and Erik walk by. It took a second for Lucy and Bickslow the recognize what they were arguing about and stopping.

"Are they arguing about sharing pleasure with Mira?" Lucy asked.

"Yeah, I think so," Bickslow responded.

"And is Van the one saying no?"

"Uh huh. Is the world ending?" Bickslow's confused expression mirrored Lucy's.

"I think so because that's gotta be a sign of the apocalypse."

"Who do you think's gonna win?" Erik asked. He was exhausted. Not because Gajeel and Natsu worked well together but because they didn't. They couldn't get on the same page, so he struggled to keep two sets of plans straight.

Bickslow and Lucy watched them for a moment. "Rhiannon," they decided.

Rhiannon heard her name and noticed them gawking. "Hey. We were waiting for ye."

"Oh. Okay. Sorry to interrupt."

"Nae. 'Tis fine. Van apparently has a stick up his arse. Which is a lot less interesting than that man over there."

"Seriously, Woman." Vander pulled her into a deep kiss. "Are you that bored of me that it can't just be the two of us for a while?" he asked quietly.

A blush almost the same shade of red as her hair spread across her cheeks and obscured her freckles. "I- uh… No?"

"Good," he said, pecking her lips and turning back to an amused Lucy. "We have information. We debriefed Farron earlier. Figured you could tell Kaleb between orgasms."

Lucy rolled her eyes and gestured for them to follow. Over the last few days, she'd turned her old office into a war room of sorts. A large map of Ishgar was nailed to one wall with pins signifying each attack. On another wall was a list of each attack with dates, times, casualties, and locations.

"This is terrifying, Tink."

"I'm trying to plot world domination. There's something I'm not seeing."

"No attacks in Joya or Pergrande," Vander said.

"What? Yes, there have."

"They've been small compared to other attacks. And in largely inconsequential locations."

Lucy grabbed a pen from her desk and wrote 'DISTRACTIONS' on the Joyan and Pergrandian attacks. "What's Alvarez's success probability with and without Joya or Pergrande?"

"Without… 42.8. With… 83.1. That's primarily wit' just Pergrande. Too much food is imported from them. They could effectively starve us out in a few months."

"Zeref is four hundred years old. He's got patience down pat. But why bother with Acnologia? The whole point of teaming up with Anna and sending the slayers through time was to defeat Acnologia. So what changed?" Lucy said, more musing to herself than to the others in the room.

"Ye being trapped on Tenrou Island," Rhiannon said. "It was what turned Zeref into a-" she paused as she tried to figure out the right word- "into a bad guy. They teamed up afterwards."

"Maybe. There's still something that I'm missing. Did you find out anything about Emery?"

"That's-"

"I know who she is," Andromeda said, summoning herself to Lucy.

"Andy? Why aren't you with Zen?"

"He's home now," Andromeda said, waving away Lucy's concern. "But we have bigger problems. I know who she is."

"How?"

"Because Zen's been seeing her."

Lucy's eyes widened and she whipped around to look at Rhiannon.

"I was just about tae get tae that."

"Who is she?" Lucy asked.

"Emery Cuore. I reached out to her former contracts. According to them, their contracts broke when she died."

"Yeah, well she's very much not dead," Vander said. "Though, I'm not opposed to fixing that."

"I noticed, but-"

"Nae. I think I understand," Rhiannon said. "When my parents- The last few months before my lacrima was put in me, we were starvin'. They were scrimpin' every jewel tae afford the procedure 'cause the doctor said it woulnae be safe once I got too old. If they put the lacrima in her as an adult, it coulda killed her."

Andromeda turned to Erik. Her eyes were cold as she studied him. "You were a dark mage originally, weren't you?" She took his flinch as confirmation. "Part of the Oración Seis?"

"We already knew this," Bickslow said.

"And yet, you mated him. About three years ago, you and your dark guild tried to activate the Infinity Clock. To get the pieces, you had to track down the six mages that had been linked to those pieces, drain their magic so that the body-link between them and the clock pieces would be inert, then put them in cocoons so that they wouldn't die causing the body-link to pass onto the next family member."

Erik refused to meet any of their eyes. Bickslow placed a hand on his shoulder which he shrugged off.

"Do you even know any of their names?"

"What does-"

"Her mother," Andromeda said with a sharp look at Lucy before turning her glare back to Erik. "Martina Cuore was a celestial spirit mage. Her great-grandmother was the one with the original body-link spell cast on her."

"I forgave him and this whole thing tried to use me as a clock's battery."

"But you survived."

"Is he scheduled tae see her again?" Rhiannon asked.

"Why?" Andromeda and Lucy both asked.

"It would be the perfect opportunity to pull a double cross. If we can get her to at least consider forgiving Erik, we might have a powerful ally. She knows Acnologia more intimately than probably anyone," Vander said.

"Of course, it might just royally piss him off," Rhiannon said.

Lucy resisted the urge to smile at Vander's annoyed expression at her blasé tone. Shifting into apathy or hiding behind boredom still seemed instinctive for her since everyone else's expressions showed some concern.

"All right. Everyone, go."

Lucy walked to the guild's dining hall and grabbed food for her and Kaleb. They'd been eating in his office a lot while dealing with the teams on patrol, fielding calls with other guilds, and talking to his brother and father who were both dealing with some of the diplomatic aspects.

"Do you have thirty?" she asked. She could feel her mate's frazzled emotions.

"Farron's supposed to call in a minute. Why?"

"Hm…" she said teasingly as she walked over. He adjusted automatically to let her stand between his legs. "Let's see how good your poker face is."

"Oh fuck," he muttered when she dropped down beneath his desk and unzipped his pants.

"After the call."

*.*.*

Lucy was frustrated. Sensing that, as soon as they finished their sparring match, Cristoff and Meredy high-tailed it back to Pelerno for the night.

The obstacle course was set to her preferred boulder mode. They'd spent the first few minutes darting around, tagging each other. Both Cristoff and Kaleb remarked on how much time she'd spent training with Bickslow and Erik since she maneuvered around with the most ease.

It was around the hour mark that she'd realized that she'd only sparred Meredy once compared to the three matches between Cristoff and Kaleb and the two between Kaleb and Meredy. For the next fifteen minutes, she'd deliberately put herself in the line to spar Cristoff only for Kaleb to somehow constantly be there. She'd have thought he had some shifting ability by how quickly he did that.

It was when Lucy let out a low, whining growl that Cristoff stopped and called it a night.

"I'm sorry," Kaleb said, reaching for her but she shrugged him off.

"I'm not mad. I'm frustrated, okay? We have a good rhythm together mentally and emotionally and physically when we're in bed but not _this._ And being able to fight side by side is kinda important. Especially since some of these attacks are probably Alvarez pretending to be Acnologia."

"You're-"

"And yes," she said, not noticing his attempts to interrupt as she started pacing. "I appreciate that you're a wizard saint and incredibly powerful which is incredibly sexy, but I'm a dragon slayer. A Queen. I have a whole tatsu of dragon slayers who don't listen to me saying that I don't need their protection. I don't need that from you. I need a partner from you."

He interrupted her tirade by grabbing her shoulders and kissing her. "You're right. I'm sorry. I'll work on it. But I still really just want to put you in a tower to keep you to myself forever."

"We'll talk about building a tower in some remote location another time. Okay? Some place where your tablet isn't allowed."

His eyes narrowed but he smiled. "Deal."

She kissed him again. "Go. I need some time to myself."

"You know, we've gotta spar against each other tomorrow for the grand opening."

"I forgot about that," she muttered, looking around. With everything going on, she'd forgotten something so seemingly mundane as the obstacle course opening to the public. Or that she and Kaleb were expected to be the first demonstration. Beck and Evergreen had returned earlier that day since Beck was part of Kaleb's official team.

"Did you already sign up for time?"

"No. It seemed like an abuse of power."

He kissed her again. "I love you. Don't stay out too late. I miss cuddling."

"Love you too. I won't." She watched him leave and let him into her mind to be privy to every lascivious thought. Many of them cracking him up which in turn made her smile.

She'd only been alone a few minutes when the door opened, and she felt Natsu's familiar magic signature.

"What are you-" She stopped when she realized that he was accompanied by Erza, Gray, and Juvia.

"Lucy," Erza said, pulling Lucy into a tight hug.

"Erza. Can't. Breathe," she said, trying to wiggle out of her grip without hurting her friend.

As soon as Erza released her, Juvia grabbed a hold of her as well. "Lucy-san! Juvia is so glad that you're no longer a love rival!"

"Never was. Still struggling to breathe."

Gray walked over and pulled Lucy from Juvia's grasp.

"Thanks."

"Gray-sama! You can't have her. Come back to Juvia," Juvia wailed as soon as Gray released Lucy.

"Guys, what are you doing here? You're not supposed to be here."

"You are," Gray said.

"Yes, but I'm the Mistress of White Sea. I'm allowed to be here."

"You're married!" Erza said.

"Not yet. Engaged. But we're mated so it doesn't legally matter if we ever married."

"They didn't believe us about how cool this place was, so we had to show them," Happy said, dropping into Lucy's arms.

"What are you doing here?" Erza asked.

"Thinking. I was training earlier with Cristoff, Meredy, and Kaleb."

"How is Meredy? It was weird, not having her around."

"She's good. Her and Cristoff are amazing together."

Erza smiled. "I'm glad." She looked around then back at Lucy. "Think your up for another match?"

"Yeah," Lucy said with a smile.

They started with five versus five. Erza had to requip out of her armors when she realized they were all too heavy for the agility required by the obstacle course. Juvia used her water body to flow around boulders, avoiding Gray. She kept knocking out Natsu's flames which annoyed him and amused Gray to Juvia's pleasure.

Erza complimented how much Lucy had improved when the two sparred. As well as asking where she could get her own rantai when Lucy managed to disarm her with it.

After forty minutes, Erza yelled to switch to two versus three to give Lucy and Natsu a chance to fight together.

"I've got Erza," Natsu yelled gleefully as Lucy rolled her eyes and went for Juvia.

At some point, Natsu and Gray started brawling. Their fighting devolved into potshots, as usual. Soon, Lucy was chiming in with her own. Followed by Erza then Juvia. They found themselves sitting in the middle of the course teasing each other. Laughing and exhausted.

"You're really not coming back, are you?" Juvia asked.

"No. I'm happy here. I have a life here. When all this is over, I'll send Natsu, Gajeel, and Wendy back to you. Maybe Laxus."

"Is it really okay for you to be _that_ far from the rest of your dragons?" Erza asked.

Lucy shrugged. "That's why Wendy's gonna be in charge. If Laxus doesn't go back."

"I've talked to him about taking the guild over. He's definitely changed because he said he'd have to think about it."

"I was just thinking about the Bubble Butt Gang," Natsu said abruptly.

"Ew," Juvia said.

"Gross," Gray complained.

"The odor is ingrained in my memory," Lucy groaned as she threw a small rock at her friend. Gray followed suit until they were laughing again as they threw small pebbles at one another. "C'mon. I've got someone waiting for me."

They walked out, Lucy locked up, and started heading towards the Fairy Tail house and the guild.

"I can't believe you'd put Wendy in charge," Natsu said as he draped and arm over her shoulder. "I'm the son of the fire dragon king. Didn't you say I could lead?"

"Natsu? Lead?" Gray snorted.

"I already kicked your ass. And you acknowledged me as queen so no take-backs. And yeah. Of course, I'd choose Wendy. She's mated and the most responsible out of you all. Otherwise, it would be Gajeel because at least he has Levy."

She paused for a moment. "Erza, do you have a list of all the dark guilds Crime Sorciere has taken down since the Oración Seis joined them?"

"No, but Jellal would. I can get them if you need them."

"Please."

"Why?" Juvia asked.

"We're gonna try to save someone on Acnologia's side. But I need to show her that Erik and the others have changed. That they're paying for their crimes."

They arrived at the guild first. "Thank you," Lucy murmured as she hugged each of them. "I needed that."

Inside, she showered quickly and didn't bother putting on pajamas when she saw that Kaleb hadn't either.

"What happened?" he asked when he noticed the bruises and scuff marks dotting her skin.

"Ran into my team. They have no concept of holding back so sparring with them was really good. I needed it."

"I'm glad." He moved so that he held himself over her with one arm. "You know, my beautiful mate has been coming home exhausted. I'm feeling rather neglected."

"We can't have that," she murmured, shuddering as his breath teased her skin and moving his hair so that she could get a better look at his face.

"Nope. None of that. I think you're too injured." His voice was husky as he stopped her hand from touching him. "I definitely think I need to pleasure you."

"I'm definitely okay with that," she said breathlessly as his lips moved down her neck.

.~*~.

Emery returned home once she knew that she could no longer avoid it. She was cursing herself for avoidance being her initial reaction. If she'd have just bottled her emotions and pretended that the deaths hadn't affected her, she wouldn't be in this position.

"You're avoiding me," he said as rose from the armchair where he'd been waiting for her. "Why?" he demanded, knowing that she wouldn't lie to him. He advanced on her until her back hit the wall. When she refused to meet his gaze, he grabbed her chin and forced her head to turn. "Why?"

"The children."

He released her with a scoff and walked back into the living room. "Of course, this is about the damn children."

"We agreed that we wouldn't kill any children."

"You decided that. I just didn't refuse. Besides, aren't a bunch of dead kids better than living orphans?"

"I try hard not to kill parents either."

"Oh yes," he said, whipping around, grabbing her hands, and tugging them so she was off balance. His claws dug into her palms. "You want to be the voice of morality. How much blood is on your hands?"

He shoved her hands away. Already off-balance, she fell. His claws had punctured her skin so her bloodied hands slipped when she tried to grab ahold of the table to break her fall. She whimpered slightly when her injured palms caught the edge of the table.

She stayed on the floor, careful to not cry. She wasn't keeping track of time when Acnologia returned to her with water, a towel, and bandages.

"I'm sorry."

She didn't respond. Instead, she watched the bowl of water turn pink as he cleaned the wounds.

"What of the archangel?"

"He's protected by a spirit. Probably one of Heartfilia's. I spoke to-" she hesitated for a second- "one of Zeref's generals. White Sea's guildmaster is an archangel too. And mated to Heartfilia. Zeref is thinking to let the Joyans try. The Joyans might even be able to get around the mating."

"Maybe you should let them." Emery instinctively jerked causing Acnologia to sigh like a parent dealing with a particularly petulant child. "I won't say anything to him."

She looked up from where she was watching him bandage her hands and smiled.

"Come on," he said, pulling her up. "Come to bed. You've had a long day."

She nodded and kissed him. "Thank you. For the patch up."

He held her face, not bothering to be careful about the coloring bruises, and gave her a deeper, possessive kiss. "Don't forget. You're _my_ mate," he said darkly into her ear. "Let's go to bed."


	38. Chapter 38

**Hey, you awesome nerds. Thanks for being patient with me as these chapters keep getting longer. I appreciate the reviews.**

 **As always, I don't own FT or the Pradesh family.**

It was late morning and Kaleb was staring blankly into his closet wearing nothing but a thong. While Lucy had no problems with the view, she thought, _They're on the chair._

"Huh?" he said, jumping slightly.

"The clothes you laid out for the opening ceremony. They're on the chair," she said, nodding her head to the chair that Kaleb sat in to watch rainy mornings.

"Right. Thank you. Who's your team again?"

"Bix and Erik with Laxus as my alternate. Beck got back yesterday. Kaleb, what's wrong? You're never this scatterbrained."

"It's just that with everything going on, I feel like this isn't the right time for all of this," he said as he pulled on the white pants.

Since they'd be sparring, they were wearing white but not their formal guild leader clothing. Lucy was wearing an outfit that Emzadi had designed when they'd gone to Elluris exactly for events like this. When she'd moved all her stuff up to the guildmaster suite, Kaleb had complained about her letting Emzadi take her out shopping too much.

"No, it's the perfect time for this," Lucy said, forcing Kaleb to look at her. "Everyone is worried. With the modified protections, none of the children will be at the opening today. It'll be filled with a bunch of adults who for one hour are looking to pretend that we're not preparing for war. Which is the other reason I asked the bar to have a stand to serve drinks at the opening.

"So, Guildmaster Pradesh, are you going to say that they should be panicking instead of scraping small bits of normalcy out of mayhem?"

"Have I asked you to marry me?" he asked with a smile.

"Yup. Twice."

"Good."

"And here, I'll give you a little more incentive to pay more attention to the match. I win, we go out and dance. I don't care if it's at a restaurant or down in the guildhall. And Sinish food for dinner. If you win…"

"I get to do whatever I want to do with you in bed."

"That doesn't like a punishment."

"With blindfolds and honey."

"Now, it sounds like a punishment."

"You get Sinish food. I get honey."

"Deal," she said, sealing it with a kiss. "I've gotta get going."

"Are you jumping?"

"Want me to ask Laxus?"

"Please."

Normally, she'd give him grief for not thinking that she could get to the Pradesh Manor on her own, but her aim over long distances still required work. He was already stressing out about taking the time to have the opening.

She pulled him down into a kiss. "Breathe. Calm down or I'm gonna ask Cris or Erik to come drug your ass."

"Fine. Fine, mia strella."

"That's original," she teased with a small smile.

"Just trying it out."

"S'agapo, ángelós mou."

"Celestial?"

She nodded. "I love you, my angel. I know a little."

"And you asked one of your spirits?"

She kissed him without answering and left. They weren't talking about it because he wasn't pleased that she'd agreed, but she was set to fly out with the rest of Fairy Tail. Farron asked her to go talk to Hisui since he was needed in Stella.

The Stellan government knew that they were in a difficult position. The first king had originally been Boscan and according to the myth, he'd left Bosco to follow a shooting star. The two countries still shared very similar languages and had some of the closest diplomatic relationships on the continent.

However, with the new belief that had been shared with them that Joya and Pergrande were siding with Alvarez, the Stellan government was in a damned near panic. They shared a border with Joya and so far, Iceburg was staying neutral but everyone knew that if push came to shove, they'd side with Pergrande and therefore Alvarez. Of the countries in Ishgar, Iceburg imported over 70 percent of their food from Pergrande. And nobody's agriculture could support adding Iceburg considering the removal of imports from Pergrande. Farron and Freed had spent two days with Stellan diplomats looking for some way to at least keep Iceburg neutral without much luck.

"Lucy!"

Lucy turned to see Mira running up to her, the lapel bouncing against her chest and attracting a lot of attention from both men and women. It had been Meredy's idea to give the Fairy Tail members lapels that would grant them limited access to the guild's facilities.

"Hi, Mira," she said, kissing her cheek without thought.

"You've gone native," Mira giggled. "I heard you were flying back with us."

"Only as far as Crocus. Farron, Kaleb's older brother, is the primary ambassador to Fiore but he's going to Stella with a bunch of mages to help get them ready."

The grin slipped off Mira's face as Lucy reminded her that they were preparing for war. It made Lucy remember the continually growing list of casualties on her wall in her office.

Rhiannon had been in her office adding the two attacks that had happened overnight when Lucy arrived to do that as well.

 _"_ _I hate this," Lucy said, throwing a pen at the wall. "We're playing catch up. I hate being on defense when people are dying."_

 _"_ _Then get Zen on board an' go on the offense," Rhiannon said. "These ones though, the accounts show no sign o' Acnologia or Emery."_

 _"_ _What do you think that means?"_

 _"_ _Normally, I'd say it meant that he cared about her opinion but that donae seem right to me. In any case, I dinae think she knows."_

"Sorry," Lucy said, looking at Mira's expression.

Mira sighed and gave a half-hearted smile. "It's not your fault. You're queen of a bunch of dragon slayers and mistress of the largest guild in Ishgar. You've got a lot on your plate right now. We're not mad that not all of us have gotten to see you. Cana may be planning on stealing the lapel, so she can come back any time she wants though."

"Where's Lisanna and Elfman?"

"Sightseeing with your team and Meredy."

" _How_ are they?"

"Elfman is happier since Ever is coming back with us."

That had surprised Laxus but no one else. Bickslow and Erik's abilities allowed them to know that while she'd grown during her time in Bosco, she also felt a bit stifled. Her soul was still yearning for something she hadn't quite found yet. Freed recognized Beck's preference towards men and knew Evergreen would search for something familiar once their almost relationship ended which was how she'd found herself flirting with Beck in the first place. Emzadi and Lucy both knew the relationship was doomed to fail, but it was Emzadi that had guessed she'd return to Fiore.

"And Lisanna?"

"Honestly, I don't know. She had a crush on Bix, but he's mated now. I think she thought that Natsu seeing you with your mate- who's beautiful by the way- would drive him to her. She's been joining Cana in the bathhouses a lot lately."

She'd known that Lisanna had a crush on Natsu. However, when the two of them ended up in bed together, she hadn't cared. It had been a poorly kept secret, but not something either of them had gone around announcing. Relationships were two-way streets. If Natsu had wanted Lisanna, it would've been her bed that he ended up in.

"There's a reason I wanted to talk to you. I wouldn't have thought his nose was as good as Natsu's but since he's been avoiding me…" Mira trailed off with a sigh.

"You haven't spoken to Laxus since you've been here?" Lucy growled when Mira shook her head. "I'm sorry. I'd have sent him straight to you, but I was looking for him too. But I'll definitely make sure he talks to you before we leave."

She smiled. "Thank you."

Lucy paused for a moment to confirm that he wasn't in the guildhall, before turning and going up to his apartment and knocking on the door. When he opened the door, she punched him.

"What was that for?"

"I told you to talk to Mira."

"Oh… Um…right."

"Finish getting dressed. I need you to take me to the Pradesh Manor."

"Why?" he asked, letting her in while he walked back inside to get his shirt on.

"My aim still sucks, and Kaleb is worried I'll be late. You're still my alternate so you should be in black."

He turned around and changed into boots and a black, fitted Elluris shirt.

"Damn. We did good."

He chuckled and rolled his eyes. "How would your mate feel about you ogling me?" he teased before grabbing her and jumping them to the Pradesh Manor.

She huffed and fussed with her hair as she walked up to the door. "Probably wouldn't care since he's still the only one I want to see naked."

"Thanks for that graphic way of saying that I'm not as pretty as him."

Zen opened the door before Lucy could knock wearing the silk robe that she recognized as meaning that he'd been in the middle of a session with Adrienne.

"Shit. I'm sorry."

"It's fine," Zen said, letting them in. "We were just talking."

Adrienne had followed Zen into the living room. Like him, she was wearing a silk robe. "I can wait in the bedroom," she said.

"No. It's fine. She's here to talk about Emery," Zen said.

"You told her?" Lucy asked.

"I don't have many friends outside of family yet."

Lucy looked at Adrienne. "Was it your advice to talk to her?"

"No. I said to listen to you and his family since you have more real world experience with people."

"Nice to know you're ignoring all of us." Lucy sighed and gestured for all of them to sit. "When you meet her tomorrow, we want to try to capture her. Maybe if we can flip her-"

"How? She's Acnologia's mate. Would you betray Kaleb?"

Lucy's brow furrowed and when she turned to look at Laxus, her confusion was mirrored in his face. "That's not possible," she said.

"What?"

"According to Draco, the first slayers didn't have the impulse to mate. It was something that the dragons added into the magic when it came time to train Natsu and the other Eclipse slayers as a way to keep the slayers attached to their humanity. Acnologia doesn't have a mate."

"Then why convince her that she's his mate?"

"It's a good abuse technique," Adrienne commented almost absently. "Sorry," she added when she noticed that they were staring at her.

"No. What do you mean?" Lucy asked.

"As you know, I work with abuse and rape survivors. It's a good hook to use on a target. A person will excuse a lot of abuse from a person if they believe that the person is their soulmate. They'll think the abuse is a reflection of their soul."

"See? We should save her."

"Then do you agree to help us catch her tomorrow?"

"Are you going to try to save her?"

"Yes."

Zen disappeared for a moment then returned with a map. "This is where we meet," he said pointing to where he circled on the map. "What's the plan?"

"I'm not telling you," Lucy said, taking the map.

"What? Why not?"

"Because I taught you poker." Lucy stood and Laxus followed. "I'll see you tomorrow," she said, kissing his cheek. "Just warn us when you leave."

"He can't lie?" Laxus asked once they were outside.

"Nope."

*.*.*

Laxus was not looking forward to this conversation but his fear of Lucy, and the threat of her telling Emzadi, had him hunting down Mira in the guildhall. He found her talking to Rhiannon.

"Does Van know you're flirting?" he asked as he joined them.

Rhiannon glared at him. "I was just talkin'. We 'ave an agreement."

"Which is?"

"Both or nothing." She turned back to Mira. "I'm sure ye'd enjoy it."

"Lucy's in her office."

Rhiannon rolled her eyes at him but winked at Mira before leaving.

"She's trouble."

"People said that about you too," Mira said, looking up at him with big eyes.

"Look, I'm just going to say it, I'm mated."

"What?"

He showed her the band on his left hand and moved his arm so that the distinctive red-orange luster of his mate mark was noticeable.

"I just thought- Okay." Her eyes were watery, and her smile looked badly pasted on. "I should go finish packing. We've bought a lot of clothes."

She didn't run out. Laxus wished she had. Instead, he watched her stiff shoulders walk to the door before disappearing outside. Once he'd lost sight of her, he dropped his head onto the table.

When they'd first gotten together, they were sixteen. He hadn't understood what his dragon was trying to tell him. After Lisanna 'died', Mira had wanted to get rid of everything that reminded her of who she'd been, including him. After his first heat, his dragon wanted Mira but was mildly intrigued by Lucy when she arrived.

Between his own anger and his irate dragon, he found himself succumbing to that anger until Fantasia happened. It had been Bickslow's idea for him to go to Bosco. To spend time with Cristoff who'd had a dragon. When he met Emzadi, his dragon had reacted, but it had been cautious. For years, he thought that it had been because the dragon was hung up on Mira. Now, with what they knew about the dragon mating, he knew it was because his dragon hadn't wanted him with another dragon slayer.

After Tenrou, they'd tried to find their way back to one another, but it never quite clicked the way it had. He understood later that his dragon had considered it a rejection and moved on before more damage could be done. Then, the guild disbanded, and he found himself back in Bosco, potentially forever.

Knowing his mate, Laxus guessed that it was Cristoff that kept telling her to wait until he was ready. Emzadi had already lost two lovers that had tried to claim her. Even though neither of their dragons found the other ideal, it was the closest she'd come.

"Hey," Bickslow said, sitting across from Laxus. Like him, he was dressed for the competition. "I saw Lucy. Wanna talk about it?"

"I'd rather have a beer."

"Good. 'Cause I've got those," Cristoff said, sitting down next to his brother with three steins.

"Thanks," he said, chuckling.

*.*.*

Lucy summoned Draco when she returned to her office. She arched an eyebrow at the fact that he'd chosen to appear in his dragon form, albeit the size of a cat. "How many dragon lacrimas were there originally?"

"Eight, not including Weislogia or Skiadrum's. Four are in your friends. I no longer sense two of them. One is in Alvarez. That one has been corrupted."

"And the eighth?"

She realized why he'd chosen his mini-dragon form instead of his human. His tells weren't as obvious, but she saw how his tail curled when he was trying to be evasive.

"What do you know?" She watched how the dragon's wings fluttered nervously.

He sighed when someone knocked on the door then visibly tensed when he saw that it was Rhiannon.

"Hi, Draco," Rhiannon said. "He's kinda cute this size."

"Right now, he's being evasive. Draco."

"Dalviama's lacrima is the one likely in use by Emery. It was never meant to be used. Igneel only told me its location as a final precaution."

"Why? What's so dangerous about this lacrima?"

"I ken that name. She was the mate of Acnologia's dragon."

"Dalviama was the death dragon. She predicted a dragon's death and would guide them to the afterlife."

"She was Davy Jones," Lucy said.

"I don't know what that means. Rhiannon is right. She was the mate of Zodrodal, Acnologia's dragon parent. Neither would go up against Acnologia. He was their son. Dalviama still guided both sides and no one fought her because they feared that they might not be able to find their way to the afterlife without her and none of her children ever took after her."

"She never had a slayer?" Lucy asked.

"No. Her magic was potentially too catastrophic in the hands of a mortal. But after the death of her mate, she lost the will to live and came to Igneel. She asked him to kill her and turn her magic into a lacrima. Igneel only agreed because her magic might be the only sure way to kill Acnologia. But he hid it and told only Nurem and myself, because he knew that we might be the only dragons to speak to you in the future. Present. You know what I mean.

"When Lucy mentioned that the dragonoids reminded her of another dragon, I knew it had to be that lacrima. We all knew that necromancy was part of her magic, but she always thought that was an abomination." Draco sighed. "He must've known the cost of that lacrima."

"What cost?" Rhiannon asked.

"That lacrima, her power, was never meant to be a human's. She, Emery, is dying."

"She was- is- already dead. She died during the surgery to implant the lacrima."

"Not necessarily. She coulda been revived," Rhiannon said. "There's a few minutes after the heart stops where the brain is still functioning. Her lacrima might be what's keeping her between life an' death."

Lucy looked at the map that she'd pinned to the wall. "Damned if we do, damned if we don't."

*.*.*

Kaleb looked around the obstacle course in awe. When Lucy was training with the slayers, she'd turned off the boulders, so he hadn't seen it in its full glory. Other than the original design specs, he hadn't taken much interest in the smoothly progressing project. While he'd enjoyed listening to his brother's and Lucy's thoughts as they trained, he'd let her take over the final phases of the project.

The game was capture-the-flag. There were three at equal distances and the main goal was to capture the tiebreaker in the middle.

Before heading to the opposite side, Lucy glanced over his team then gave him her cheeky, wicked smirk which was normally sexy but kind of made him nervous in that moment. He looked over his team and noticed what she had at the same time Rowan did.

"We're screwed," Rowan commented, studying Erik and Bickslow.

As much as he wanted to refute that, Kaleb couldn't. Not only had Lucy and her team been running it for months, her team was more lithe and agile than the large men on Kaleb's.

"I hate Sinish food."

*.*.*

"We are the champions!" Lucy, Bickslow, and Erik half-screamed and half-sang as they entered the guildhall with Kaleb's team sulkily following behind. They were the most elite team in the guild and they were pretty thoroughly beat. To add salt to the wound, Kaleb's team knew that they'd deliberately dragged it out.

There were several astounded faces around the guildhall.

"Pay up," Emzadi and Vander yelled.

"You bet against me?" Kaleb asked.

"Of course. I've actually seen her in that course," Emzadi said.

"Terrifying, isn't she?" Vander asked.

Instead of taking the middle flag back to base, Lucy and Bickslow taunted Kaleb and Rowan with it. It took Kaleb a couple of minutes to remember Lucy's statement about putting on a show and decided to tell his team to play along. He guessed that only his siblings had recognized that. It didn't mean they hadn't lost. They accepted as soon as the flag had been taken, that they'd lost.

 _I feel bad, so I'll agree to the blindfold. Deal?_

 _Deal. This was fun. Embarrassing, but fun._

 _I'm glad._

"Blindfold?" Erik asked with a teasing poke to her side.

"Stop eavesdropping. I like to look at him and he likes to tease."

"Kinky," Bickslow added.

Lucy squeaked when Kaleb came up behind her and pulled her away.

"Sorry, but I owe my mate a dance."

 **.~*~.**

 _I'm not a fan of this,_ Kaleb said.

 _I know._

Lucy had decided not to allow any non-dragon slayers but Vander and Zen to participate in trying to capture Emery. Zen, she'd had to let participate and Vander could Void jump. The only dragon slayers were Lucy, Laxus, Emzadi, and Cristoff because they could jump at a second's notice. Rhiannon was watching from a distance.

If not for their mating bond, Rhiannon would've fled at the mere mention of going up against Acnologia. It was a little terrifying and a bit impressive that she'd nearly pulled it off. She'd played it cool until she managed to get outside and shifted away. Vander spent half the afternoon trying to catch her.

She was sitting with her skirt fanning out around her and her fingers in the ground. Sitting on her skirt with his back to hers was Vander. The touch was keeping her grounded and him physically sitting on her dress kept her from fleeing.

"She's arrived," Rhiannon said quietly.

Cristoff sent a quick text to Zen. A few minutes later, Rhiannon said that Zen had arrived as well.

"Should we go?" Vander asked.

"No. He asked me to let them talk for a bit. Rhia, tell me when it sounds like he's either got her or has been rejected."

*.*.*

Emery smiled at him when he landed. "I wasn't sure-"

"What happened?" Zen asked, seeing the bruising along her jaw. In theory, he knew that he could heal but reaching towards the bruises, he'd never felt magic surge into his hands like it did when he reached for her. It was like a faint light moving from his hand and into her skin. That didn't stop him from recognizing that the bruises along her jaw were the shape of handprints. And a man's hand at that.

"I didn't know you could do that."

"It's the first time that I have. Acnologia did that, didn't he?"

"You don't understand," she said, walking away from him. "He doesn't always know his own strength. It was an accident."

"That's not love."

"And what would you know?" she demanded, whipping around. "You were a slave most of your life and the woman you loved chose your brother."

"Come with me and I'll show you," he said, holding out his hand.

She glanced at it then Zen's face. There had never been a time when Acnologia looked that earnestly at her. Like he craved a simple touch like her hand in his. Not once in three years.

She remembered the first time she met Acnologia. He'd shown up in the café where she worked while her mother was away on a job. He was one of the most handsome men she'd ever seen. The fact that he took an immediate interest in her didn't go unnoticed by her coworkers who teased her.

It took a few weeks of flirting and no warning signs to agree to a date. He let her set the pace. At around the two-month mark, he told her that he was a dragon slayer and that she was his mate. There were enough stories about dragon slayers that she understood what he was telling her.

Then her mother was killed. He held her while she cried then helped her get stronger. He got her the lacrima to help her get her revenge.

She loved Acnologia.

"No," she said, pulling away the hand that had been reaching toward him. She frowned when she felt the new mages that jumped into the clearing. "You pulled a double cross? I'm almost impressed."

"We are trying to save you."

"I told you before, I don't need you to save me."

"Are you sure about that?" Lucy said, walking up to Emery with her hands up.

"You're Heartfilia, aren't you?" she asked, her eyes glancing to Lucy's abdomen.

"Yes."

"You're not my queen."

"I know. Have you ever listened to her?"

"Who?" Emery asked.

"Dalviama. The dragon soul of that lacrima inside of you. All of your dragon souls communicate with us. Mine-" she touched the dragon tattoo that had moved to wrap around her arm- "moves in specific ways to communicate. Emzadi, Laxus, they have lacrimas too. They get restless. They hear their dragon cry out for their mates. Does yours cry out for Acnologia? It doesn't, does it?"

"You- You don't know what you're talking about."

"Sure, I do. I rejected my mate. I postponed claiming him. Ended up with a royally irate dragon soul. What about you Laxus?" Lucy asked without ever looking away from Emery.

"I drove myself insane. Nearly killed a lot of people. Actually hurt a lot of people. Emi wasn't my original mate, but I love her."

"See? Listen to that voice. You know which one I'm talking about. It's the one that was new after the lacrima was implanted."

 ** _Listen to her. Listen to me._** The voice kept repeating. The dragon hated Acnologia. It's why she'd stopped listening to it.

 ** _He killed my mate. He killed Zodrodal. We loved him, and he broke us._**

"This changes nothing," Emery said.

Lucy gestured for Vander to come forward. He carried a folder of papers that Erza had Jellal send her.

"These are the dark guilds that the Oración Seis helped destroy. They have changed. I know it doesn't change the fact that your mother died, but they have changed."

"I don't care."

Emery opened her mouth and made a high-pitched keening cry. While it hurt Vander and Zen, it brought the dragon slayers to their knees. Lucy struggled to move under the weight that sound seemed to create, but she managed to summon Aries. The spirit didn't need a command to cocoon Emery.

"I'm sorry, Miss Lucy," Aries said.

"No. You did good," Lucy screamed as she touched the blood trickling from her ear. A moment later, Monoceros appeared to heal her. "Thank you. Please-"

"I know, Miss Lucy," Monoceros said, already moving to heal the other dragon slayers. Zen watched the unicorn in awe.

A weird sound had Lucy looking up with the others quickly following suit. Rhiannon had thought that Acnologia was at home or in a town with Motherglare causing destruction. He was neither. Instead, he'd been flying high enough in the sky to escape detection.

"Go back!" she screamed at her spirits who popped away as Lucy grabbed ahold of Zen. They jumped out of the clearing as Acnologia used his laser like breath attack.

Lucy landed just outside the clearing in time to see Acnologia scoop up Emery.

"I guess you were right," Zen said.

"Nope." Lucy smiled at him. "She took the papers. All right. Let's go after them."

"Are you insane?"

"Probably. C'mon."

Zen scooped her up and flew after the dragon. Acnologia was flying low and randomly blasting places though Lucy could faintly hear Emery admonishing him.

"Go above them and then throw me up."

"What?" His face told her that he was incredulous not hard of hearing.

"The spell has too long an incantation and the blowback will hurt you if you're still holding onto me."

"This is a bad idea," he said as he climbed.

"Yeah, yeah."

Zen was careful not to go higher than he knew they could breath. He threw her up then let himself drop.

"Survey the Heavens. All the stars, far and wide. Show me thy appearance with such shine.

"Oh Tetrabiblos. I am the ruler of the stars. Aspect become complete. Open thy malevolent gate.

"Oh 88 Stars of the heaven. Shine!

"Urano Metria!" She poured a dragon's roar into the final line of the incantation. For a moment, she seemed hang in the air before dropping.

Angered by the attack that might leave a bruise, Acnologia turned to aim his own dragon's roar at her only to stop when Emery demanded that he did.

Zen didn't try to keep up with them a second time. "That was amazing and we're probably going to get an earful about it."

Lucy tapped her temple. "Already am."

*.*.*

While Emery was cooking dinner, Acnologia took her comm and stepped onto the back porch to call Zeref.

"This is unexpected," Zeref said once he realized that it was Acnologia.

He watched Emery move around the kitchen as he said, "Your turn. Call in the Joyans."


	39. Chapter 39

**Hello, my pretties. This week has been insane.**

 **I don't own FT or the Pradesh family.**

"That was the most ridiculously stupid thing that I've ever seen an intelligent person do," Kaleb ranted as he paced back and forth in his bedroom at the Pradesh manor. He'd had Thane teleport him there as soon as Emzadi told him what Lucy and Zen were doing.

Lucy resisted the urge to point out that technically, he didn't see her do it. Only Laxus had ever seen that spell and recognized it as hers.

According to Emzadi, the scene of Rhiannon running into Vander's arms blubbering had been surprisingly sweet. Rhiannon argued that she hadn't been blubbering. Though, Lucy had noticed that she hadn't stopped touching him and it made Lucy smile at the way Vander seemed to bask in those touches.

Cristoff noticed her absence first with Rhiannon announcing that she was alive, but that Lucy jumped to just outside the clearing. It had also been Cristoff, through the stronger link of his knightship bond, that recognized the black speck that shot after Acnologia was Zen and Lucy.

"I don't know what possessed you to think that you could take him on your own. I thought you'd grown past this hubris after the last time you nearly got yourself killed."

Part of Lucy wanted to get mad. The other part could feel her mate. Could feel how scared he was. She walked over to him and hugged him, taking in his spiced apple scent.

"The last time you went up against him, you weren't alone and lost three years of your life," he said softly. He shifted them so that he could sit down and pull her into his lap. "I understand why Dalviama walked over to Igneel and asked him to kill her after her mate died. I'm not sure how I'd function if you were gone."

"Don't say that. Your family would still need you. I just-" she snuggled into his chest- "I don't know what I was just-ing. It seemed like a good idea at the time." She was crying. She was crying because she could feel him trying not to.

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have spoken to you like that."

"No. You're right. I wasn't thinking. But I did learn something important."

"What?"

"She wouldn't let him kill us. And more importantly, he listened."

"Do you think he loves her?"

"I don't know, but in some weird way, he must respect her opinion. Otherwise, he wouldn't have cared."

"I know we've got to get you back to catch your flight, but can we just sit here for a bit?" Kaleb asked quietly.

"Yeah."

Sting and Rogue were the only dragon slayers flying back with her. They had Sabertooth to run and if they wanted to make sure that the guild was ready to fight, they needed to be there as well. She agreed to hold off for the time being, but Laxus and Emzadi already knew that she planned to send them and Wendy back to Fairy Tail. Natsu had worked well with Emzadi but something told her to keep him with her.

She didn't realize she'd fallen asleep until she felt the combined magic of Emzadi and Laxus jumping her and Kaleb.

"Hey. I wasn't sure you'd wake up," Kaleb said softly, kissing her temple.

"You were gonna let me leave without saying goodbye?" she asked.

"I was still debating that," he admitted. "Thane brought over your suitcase."

"Thank you, Thane," she said, looking at the man hovering a few feet behind Kaleb with the bag.

"Your tablet as well," Thane said, joining them. "It has your schedule as well as the plans for the flight back in three days."

She opened the schedule. "Lunch with my father?"

"He requested it," Thane said, looking bemused at the frown on Lucy and Kaleb's faces.

"Want me to come over for lunch?"

"No. I should deal with him on my own first. Next time, yes. We should all sit down at least once before we get married."

He smiled and kissed her. "I like how that sounds."

"Lucy?" A heavy hand dropped onto her shoulder. "It's time to go," Erza said gently.

"Love you."

"Love you too."

He reached around her neck and clasped a necklace into place. The White Sea symbol was placed in a shield with the chain coming from either side.

"It's the necklace of the mistress of White Sea. Just in case anyone questions what authority you have."

"Thank you. It'll definitely save some time."

Kaleb lifted her hand and kissed the promise ring. It lit up for a moment as it surged with his magic. He kissed her again. As she tried to deepen the kiss, he stepped back.

"Go."

As she followed Erza onto the airship, she kept glancing back.

 _You aren't far from my magic._

 _I know. I know._

It wasn't until Kaleb got back to his suite that he began to feel the pain of their mating being stretched so far. The double mating kept echoing back and forth. He kept pulling her share of the pain into himself until he cried out through the link for Cristoff. His brother appeared with Meredy and put him to sleep.

"Is that what'll happen to any of us if we're separated?" Meredy asked.

"Eventually, no. But I think he's feeling additional effects of two bonds, his archangel and her dragon slayer, as well as trying to hold her share. And we've been mated longer. It'll probably just be incredibly uncomfortable for us."

Meredy nodded. "You should jump to her. Get her to pull back her share of the pain and put her to sleep."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah. It's like stretching a muscle. The more you do it, the less it hurts. Now, while she's flying, is the best time. If he's this useless, we might as well have let him go with her."

"You're right. Except that I can't shift onto a moving vehicle."

She gave her mate a sardonic look. "You have a comm, don't you?"

Cristoff gave her a playful glare, kissed the tip of her nose, and called Lucy.

"Cris?" Lucy questioned, her voice sleepy.

"It's Kaleb. I'm going to walk you through meditation."

"What's going on?" she demanded, sounding more alert.

"He's trying to take on all the pain of your separation. I need you to pull it back to yourself. Have someone make sure that you don't hurt yourself." He listened for her to wake up Erza and tell her what she knew. "Sit on the bed and close your eyes. Breathe in. Breathe out. Focus on the link between you and Kaleb."

He continued to repeat himself. Letting his voice get progressively slower and deeper until he heard her cry out.

"She's unconscious," her friend, Erza, said.

"That's good. Well, not good but that's how she should be. Cuddle her. It'll help."

"Okay. Good night, Cristoff. Tell Meredy good night as well."

Meredy snatched the comm from Cristoff. "Night."

Cristoff was looking at his brother. "Do you mind sleeping here tonight?"

"As long as you're in the middle, no," Meredy said, understanding why.

They settled into the bed, Meredy curled up into his side and his brother calming down behind him.

.~*~.

"Your house or mine?" Vander asked as everyone left the Pradesh Manor. Rhiannon had a single finger entwined with his and he was enjoying her need to constantly be touching him.

"Mine."

He pulled her to him and jumped them to Rhiannon's beach house. Once there, he sat on her bed and she straddled his legs. Vander put his hands just above her knees and rubbed circles with his thumbs.

"You were right." He let the top of his shadowleather disappeared so that she could nuzzle the green and brown dragon that encompassed his shoulder. "I was scared. I thought- I don't want to share anymore."

"Are you willing to let me love you?" He kissed her when she tearfully nodded. "Will you promise with me?"

"Yes."

A few hours later, Rhiannon's murmuring woke Vander up. He sat up, intending to simply watch his mate sleep for a bit since his Caelish was still minimal at best, until he heard her say, "Zeref."

He eased himself up, knowing that a Void jump, even just as far as where his comm landed, would wake her up.

"Do you realize what time it is?" Farron asked crankily.

"Yeah. I need you to-" Vander whispered.

"Why are-"

"-Translate Rhiannon's sleep talk." Vander carefully placed the comm next Rhiannon's mouth where Farron could hear her.

He was getting better at reading Caelish but the first time Farron had sent something Caelish that he'd written out phonetically, the shadowquip looked at it and said, 'This can't be real.'

She continued to murmur for a few more minutes before her face scrunched up and her arm was reaching over to the other side of the bed. Realizing that she was close to waking because she no longer felt his touch, Vander stroked her face, letting his hand wander down her neck and over the tapestry of flowers tattooed on her back. After a minute of stroking her skin, she settled back down but was silent.

"Well?" Vander asked.

"It sounds like she heard the conversation between Acnologia and Zeref from when they first partnered," Farron said, sounding a lot more awake now. "Zeref was the one that gave Acnologia the lacrima that's in Emery. They knew that the lacrima would kill her."

"How did she hear them?"

"Best guess? She's so scared of Acnologia, she listens for him even in her sleep."

He brushed back her hair and watched as she instinctively nuzzled into his hand. "Anything that we didn't know?"

"He targeted Emery for a reason. I caught part of what almost seemed like a second conversation. It might have been but her dreaming mind didn't exactly transition. Zeref made a comment that there were easier women to go after but Acnologia was fixated that it had to be Emery but I'm not clear why."

"Okay. Go back to bed," Vander said, noticing that Rhiannon was getting restless again.

"Night."

.~*~.

"Are you sure you'll be okay?" Erza asked again. They were at the skyport in Crocus.

"Yeah," Lucy replied. She still felt the strain of her bond with Kaleb. It felt like she was trying to wear clothes that were too tight. Though, being back in her Fiorian clothes, was certainly not helping the feeling. "It's just uncomfortable now. I need to go. I'm having breakfast with Princess Hisui."

"Most people would be excited by that."

"Most people haven't met her." Lucy took Erza and Gray's hands. "Be safe. Don't do anything stupid."

"You're one to talk. I heard about what happened," Gray said.

"Do as I say. Not as I do."

"We're not your dragons," Cana said, draping herself over Lucy's shoulders.

"I know. I wish you were. It would make knowing you're safe easier. You were my first family."

"Flight to Magnolia, now boarding," a voice over an intercom said.

"Go," Lucy said, hugging each of them. "Stay safe."

"Are you okay?" she asked Mira quietly.

"I will be," she replied.

Lucy watched them board before running over to the Boscan Embassy to change from the comfortable Boscan clothing that she'd worn onto the airship.

By the end of breakfast, Lucy was wondering how the Fiorian government was even slightly thriving. Breakfast had included not only Hisui but the rest of her Council. A few of them had recognized her necklace as the symbol of the Mistress of White Sea and had given her the deference that her position demanded. The others were told but it didn't stop their chauvinistic minds from belittling her. It had taken everything in her to stop from growling.

There were three representatives from ERA. One recognized not only the dragon on her shoulder but the rumbling growl that she suppressed. The mage had assumed she was mated to a dragon slayer. That had irritated her enough that she'd stood up, slammed her hands onto the table, and told them that she was the queen of the tatsu that included the dragon slayers of both Bosco and Fiore. That didn't go over well with Hisui's council.

The rest of the meeting centered on posturing. As of that morning there were over a thousand dead in Fiore alone and they were more concerned with appearances. It didn't matter to them that Lucy kept reminding them that these attacks were small compared to what would happen when Alvarez attacked enforce.

While Lucy may question her ability to lead, she'd acknowledge Hisui's ability to read a room and she ended the meeting. Though, she scheduled another for the following afternoon.

 _Calm down,_ Kaleb's voice said as she raged in her room at the embassy.

 _I don't want to,_ she said and heard him chuckle at her deliberately petulant attitude. She fell back into the bed and basked in the general sensation of his magic before remembering that she'd been annoyed with him that morning as well. The pain was still there. Like a drill to her temple but she was adjusting. _That was stupid. We're partners._

 _You're right._

 _I usually am._

 _There's probably some Boscan chocolates somewhere in the embassy._

 _Have I mentioned how much I love you?_

 _Yes, but it's always good to hear._

 _I love you. Now, get back to work. I expect an entire day alone with you. I may even consent to honey._

 _May?_

 _May._

 _I'll take what I can get._

She stood, grabbed her tablet, and headed downstairs to the lobby. Before breakfast, she'd seen that Farron had emailed her but had been running late and hadn't read them.

The first sentence in the first was 'The Council is rather chauvinistic. Don't lose your temper.' She chuckled, feeling a touch exasperated that he knew her that well. Despite the attacks, many of the other ambassadors said they felt like Chicken Little warning that the sky was falling and being ignored.

As she read, she missed the last step and yelped as she crashed down. She paused to listen for any staff before sighing. At least there'd been no one to see her. A moment later, Monoceros appeared.

"Maybe you shouldn't read and walk," the spirit commented once she'd taken an appraisal of the situation.

"Is it sprained?"

"Only slightly." Monoceros knelt down and healed her ankle. The healer glanced over her before her eyes lingered on Lucy's abdomen. It made her frown because Emery had done the same as well.

"What is it?"

"Uh…"

Lucy pursed her lips. Monoceros was almost as monotoned as Virgo. "What. Is. It?"

"You're pregnant. Judging by how far along you are, I'd guess the conception was your mating."

"Wha'? That's not possible. How could that happen? I mean, I know how that could happen, but- Oh fuck." She remembered Zen saying that Emery was upset with the deaths of the children. Then, when they were flying behind Acnologia, she thought she heard Emery say 'pregnant' but had dismissed it. "That's why she stopped Acnologia. Ceros, you can go. Tell Leo to meet me in my room."

"Yes, Ma'am."

Lucy grabbed her tablet and scrambled up the stairs. Loke and Virgo were both already in her room when she got there. Both were nearly giddy.

"How long have you known?"

"Just since yesterday. Ceros wasn't certain since she was trying to heal quickly." He watched as Lucy poked at her flat stomach. "You're only a couple of weeks along."

"I hate to ask-"

"Do you really think that you _need_ to ask?"

"Thank you." She sighed. "This is shitty ass timing."

 _Lucy? Are you okay?_

 _Yeah. Just found out something we'll need to talk about when I get home._ She glanced at the clock and almost sighed in relief for the excuse. _I've got to get going to meet my dad for lunch._

 _Did you get the chocolate?_

 _Got distracted. Just as well, I suppose._

"You didn't tell him," Loke said as he escorted Lucy out of the embassy.

"I want to tell him in person. I want to see his face. And I want to be there when Arman finds out."

*.*.*

Lunch with her father started off surprisingly well. After they saw each other at Hisui's birthday, he'd started researching Bosco. Seeing not only the promise ring, but the engagement bracelet made him giddy. Especially once he realized that the crest she wore was the symbol of the Mistress of White Sea.

"Lucy, what's wrong?" Jude asked. His daughter had been silently playing with her noodles while he rambled on about the business.

"I'm pregnant," she replied.

"What?"

"I'm pregnant."

"That's amazing. Does Kaleb know? It _is_ Kaleb's, right?"

"Yes," she replied through clenched teeth. Then, coming to a conclusion to a debate that she hadn't realized that she was having, she said, "I need you to promise me something. I need you to promise that if anything happens to me, you won't fight Kaleb or Arman over this child."

"You want me to give up rights to my grandchild. Not chance in hell."

"Father," Lucy sighed. "Don't add fighting you with all of the other shit that I have to deal with."

"Language. Why?"

"Because you already did enough damage with me. You're not harming my child," she said, standing up. "If you force me to go through legal means, you won't have _any_ rights to the child."

"Fine," he said as she walked away.

She was walking back to the Embassy with the plan to finish reading her messages, preferably while in a bubble bath, then coming up with a battle plan for meeting with Hisui the following.

"Lucy," an annoyingly familiar voice said.

"What do you want?" Lucy asked as she turned to look at Minerva.

"Nothing. Just wanted to see your face when I did this." She cast a spell and trapped Lucy into one of her pocket dimensions. It happened so fast that no one on the busy street noticed the abduction.


	40. Notice!

It kind of sucks that we've ended up here. Most of you have been absolutely amazing. The few flames that I've had to deal with were put out pretty easily. For that, I am beyond grateful. I love interacting with you. I love seeing your reviews. I will entirely admit to refreshing the page every ten minutes after I've posted to see everyone's comments.

That being said… FFNet seems to be intent on ignoring issues such as flames and hackers. More for the safety of my computer and my privacy, I will not be continuing _Something Unexpected_ or _Half-baked_ on here. I will be transitioning to AO3.

 _Something Unexpected_ will, for the most part, be the same except that I'm going to smooth out some of the kinks from where I was still figuring out my mythology or from where the story shifted into Pradesh-verse. Because I'll be editing, this one will be a little slower on the reposts.

The last week of _Half-baked_ will be posted on AO3 as well. If you choose not to look for it there, the original novel version will be posted on Wattpad as part of NaNo 2018. It will still be called _Half-baked_ because I still have no plot.

I'm sorry this had to happen. While the stories will be deleted on Thursday, I will still have my account because there are still authors and stories that I follow.


	41. Chapter 40

**On the first day of Christmas, my true love gave to me...**

"Emperor Spriggan," Sydelle said into the lacrima while staring at her shelf. On the shelf in her office were five of her generals. These were women that she very nearly loved as family. After finding out that they'd missed Lucy Heartfilia and Kaleb Pradesh mating, Spriggan sent one of his Shield, Brandish, to punish her. She shrunk her generals and stuck them in glass jars like a child who caught a lizard. Accompanying this punishment, the jars were warded to only open for ten minutes at 8 AM, 12 PM, and 8 PM. They only opened for her forcing her to rotate who was fed for each meal.

"Do you have news for me?"

"As of yet, the mage that we have from White Sea is still resisting us. However, it is other news that I'm calling you about. Lucy Heartfilia is in Fiore without her mate and largely separated from her dragons. If you wish for us to take her, now is the time to do it."

"I agree. I have another team preparing to take the other archangel, Zen Pradesh. I will have them take him at the same time. You will need to prepare a trap since that will lure Kaleb Pradesh to you."

"Yes, Emperor Spriggan."

"You'll also need to retrieve the fire dragon slayer. I suggest keeping him sedated. I will come by in three hours to check your progress."

"Yes, Emperor."

Her gaze never left her generals as she stood to prepare the rooms. If she didn't do this properly, she had no doubt that at least one of them would end up under Emperor Spriggan's boot.

"Where is Heartfilia?" Sydelle asked when Minerva arrived.

"In a pocket dimension. It is best to keep her there until you're ready to lure in her dragons. In that dimension, as far as anyone can tell, she's still in Crocus. We release her here, and they'll immediately know."

"They'll know soon enough. Emperor Spriggan of the Alvarez Empire is having a team capture her brother-in-law, the other archangel.

"Can she communicate? Her mate is a telepath."

"I feel confidant that even he can't reach her. And even if he could, I know that she can't break out of her prison."

"Good." Sydelle gestured for her to follow. "This is where she'll go when it's time. Would you be able to warp the reality around the room so that we could work on her without alerting the dragons or her mate until we're ready?"

"I don't know. Even if I could, it wouldn't be for long."

"Okay. We'll hold off on that for now."

Minerva followed Sydelle into the throne room where Emperor Spriggan and another man were waiting. The two women immediately dropped to a bow.

"We don't have time for that," Zeref said. "Where's Lucy Heartfilia?"

"In a pocket dimension where she can't be sensed," Minerva said.

"Good. Good way to keep the dragons from noticing just yet. I would have had Jacob come but…" Zeref eyed the revealing clothing that Sydelle and Minerva wore. Behind him, the second man giggled. The second man had purple hair that was pulled into a ponytail, a long, narrow face, and armor that almost looked better suited for Erza except that it wasn't Heart Kreuz. "This is Neinhart. He's good at getting into people's heads."

"Hello."

"And where is Natsu Dragneel?"

"Sedated as you recommended," Sydelle said.

"Good. I'll tell Brandish to release one of your generals when she arrives with the archangel."

"Thank you, Emperor."

"Now, take me to the beast master."

Sydelle bowed her head and took him to the observation room of one of the labs where they improved their slaver spells.

"Who is he?" Neinhart asked, looking at the naked man writhing on the table with unabashed interest.

"Beck Redansa. We've had him as a sleeper for over six months. His handler would whistle a signal and he'd tell her anything she asked. Then she'd release him and he wouldn't remember any of it. It's like hypnosis. Since it wasn't something he was consciously aware of, he couldn't accidently broadcast anything to Guildmaster Pradesh. The handler was also the one that retrieved Natsu Dragneel."

"Good. See that she's rewarded."

"If you've gotten information from him before, what's the problem now?" Neinhart asked.

"Most of the information concerned gossip and movements. Nothing directly damaging. Even drugged, he knows that the information we seek will hurt his guildmaster."

"Is it just loyalty or something more?"

"The mage that first directed us in his direction thought there was something more."

"Hm…I can work with that. I suppose that it was best that you brought me instead of Larcade." Neinhart sauntered off.

"Why can't you just do whatever you do to turn a man into a pleasure slave?" Minerva asked.

"He'd be a tabula rasa. It's knowledge that we need." Sydelle turned to Zeref. "What is he going to do?"

"His primary magic is a type of necromancy. But, he can also create mental illusions of the living. It just bores him."

 _Neinhart was in Beck's head. The Succubus Venom they'd been trying to ply him with made the memory easy to find. Beck had gone up late to wake Kaleb with word of dragons attacking Crocus. He'd found Kaleb sprawled in his bed naked and couldn't stop himself from taking a second to marvel his naked form._

 _Instead of how the memory actually went, Kaleb woke up and looked at him. "Come back to bed. It's late."_

 _Beck walked over on autopilot and crawled in next to him. His bi-colored eyes found Neinhart but couldn't move._

 _"_ _I understand the attraction," Neinhart said, walking over to the other side of the bed and sitting down. He rubbed a hand down Kaleb's chest. "You remember it, don't you? The feeling of him pounding into you. Wouldn't it be nice to hear him whisper that he loved you as he did?"_

 _The memory changed to the one time that he'd managed to share pleasure with Kaleb. This time, he was whispering sweet nothings to him. It felt like lovers and not partners trying to relieve tension. Neinhart let them curl up into post-coital cuddling._

 _"_ _Isn't this nice? You could have it if that- if he hadn't been mated. If he wasn't claimed."_

 _Kaleb slowly started disappearing and Neinhart released his control of Beck so that the man scrambled to try and catch him. When he couldn't, Beck cried._

 _"_ _Break the dragon."_

"What did he say?" Minerva asked.

"Break the dragon." Neinhart looked in the room to see that the mage was alone. "Where are the others?"

"One of the other Shields just arrived with the archangel."

"Break the dragon. It'll break the bond to protect itself and its mate," Beck said hoarsely, still in the throes of Neinhart's illusion.

Neinhart gave Beck a lascivious once-over. "Why don't you run along and tell them while I finish up here?"

Minerva rolled her eyes and left to find the Emperor and Warqueen. She found them looking into another room. There were three layers of magic dampening runes as well as magic dampening cuffs holding him to the X-frame.

"Is he that powerful?"

"He was a gladiator in Pergrande. The king is interested in getting him back. And he gave the Shield some trouble."

"It's that power that I want off the board. What did Neinhart get the man to reveal?"

"Break the dragon. It'll protect its mate by breaking the bond. I don't understand why we're going through all of this if getting the Heartfilia bitch unmated is the point. Wouldn't killing her mate be easier?"

Sydelle made a noise of indignation.

"Dragons often followed their mates in death. I want her alive and away from Pradesh. She'll be frantic to claim a mate again and Natsu is one of her potentials."

"Why go through all of this?"

"Because he's my brother. I want him to rule at my side and giving him something he wants is a good way to do it." He turned to Sydelle. "I don't want her out until we're certain we can break the bond in the time it takes for them to get here from Bosco. I suggest that you get to work. I want a list of ideas in two hours. They've likely already noticed at least one of them missing."

.~*~.

"We 'ave a problem. We 'ave a problem!" Rhiannon screeched as she shoved people out of her way as she ran up to the guildmaster office. For a moment, Thane almost looked ready to stop her before deciding not to and let her skid into Kaleb's office. "We 'ave a problem," she gasped. "We really should do physical activity that isnae in bed," she said to Vander, knowing that he'd followed her.

"I'm okay with that."

"What's going on?" Kaleb asked.

 _Spriggan 12 in Ishgar. More importantly in Bosco._

"Fuck. Where?"

"Near Pelerno. I think they 'ave Zen."

"Shit. You're certain?"

"Nae. I cannae differentiate one Spriggan Shield from another. It's only 'cause their sheer power that I was able to figure out who were the Shields so that I could track them. Zen knows my tracking ability. If he knew he was about to be taken, is it that crazy to think that he'd make sure to touch the ground?"

"No. No, you're right."

"That's too many disappearances…" Kaleb muttered.

"Who else is missing?" Vander asked.

"Wendy says she can't find Natsu. And I got a call earlier today asking if I'd heard from Beck since the animal sanctuary was expecting him. Lucy's also been silent but so far our bond isn't registering anything as wrong."

"She's gone silent on you before. Besides, Mercurius Castle and the Embassy have increased their warding, so it could be as simple as nothing getting through."

"We've talked since she's been there. And yes, I'm aware that it could've just been a fluke of the warding shifting or the fact that she was frazzled, and her emotions made the connection stronger. My gut-" Kaleb stopped. He didn't go by his gut like this.

"Okay. What do Zen, Natsu, Beck-" Vander said, accepting what his brother was trying to say.

"Nae," Rhiannon interjected. "Emery's been trying to lure Zen for over a week. This is somethin' different. What does Natsu, Lucy, and Beck have in common?" The two men gave each other unknowing looks before turning Rhiannon. "That wasn' rhetorical."

Vander sat down and pulled Rhiannon into his lap. She moved to nuzzle his neck before noticing her dragon's head above the collar of his shirt.

"Would Beck know how to unmate dragon slayers?" she asked.

"Maybe? If anyone had a good guess, I'd say Beck," Kaleb said, his hand going to Lucy's mark on his chest and the lacrima pulsing slightly. "Is it possible?"

"I dinnae ken. If it was, I'd have given Van that option."

Vander gently turned her head so that she looked him in the eye. "And I'd have said no."

She smiled thinly and kissed him. "Do ye think ye could contact Lucy?" she asked Kaleb.

"If they didn't think to take her promise ring off, yes."

When Kaleb left, Thane's eyes immediately went to his choker then to Vander and Rhiannon who followed. Vander shook his head and Thane went back to work.

Rhiannon stopped. "What is it?" Vander asked when he realized that she wasn't behind him.

"There's something bothering me."

"Just one thing?"

"You go. I have something I need to follow up on at the Fairy Tail house."

"Go," Kaleb said when Vander reached him at the elevator. "Cris and Meredy should be waiting for me."

"You sure?"

"Yes."

Vander followed his mate and as Kaleb predicted, Cristoff and Meredy were already waiting outside the guildmaster suite for him.

"You're certain?" Cristoff asked.

"No. She could just as easily be in the castle where the wards are interfering," Kaleb replied.

"Do you believe that?"

"We both know I have limitations. That's why I wanted her to have the lacrima in her promise ring."

The two men sat in the bed, looking at one another, as Cristoff channeled his calming mists around them. Kaleb closed his eyes and focused. He focused less on her mind than the tendrils of his magic that he'd pushed into her ring.

.~*~.

 _Kaleb was back in the doorway to his bedroom. Curled up into the side of another version of him was Lucy._

 _"_ _Lucy?" he questioned softly careful to stay out of range in case she woke up swinging._

 _She blinked owlishly at him then looked at the copy sleeping next to her. "This wasn't one of my impossible thoughts. I'm not knocking it but-" she paused and Kaleb could see the dawning comprehension on her face- "Where am I?"_

 _"_ _Your mind palace," he said as he moved to sit next to her._

 _"_ _That's not what I meant. Where am I physically?"_

 _"_ _I don't know. That's why I reached out like this."_

 _She closed her eyes for a second. "I don't know." She opened them and looked up into his eyes. "I'm too disconnected."_

 _The door to the ensuite was open but the one to the living room was closed._

 _"_ _If you leave-"_

 _"_ _If I leave, we don't know what I was hiding from. Why I needed to create a safe space. Leaving could break me."_

 _"_ _You're stronger than that. I have faith in you," he said, standing and gently pulling her along._

 _"_ _No," she said, yanking her hands away. "You need to promise me something. Promise me that no matter what condition I'm in, you'll save me. If I'm in a coma, you will save me. If I'm brain dead, you will keep me alive."_

 _"_ _That would be cruel. Why would you ask that of me?"_

 _Lucy turned and Kaleb followed her gaze. In the corner, his chair had been replaced by a bassinet. "Because you can still save her."_

 _He almost didn't hear her as he took a step towards the crib._

 _"_ _She's not in there."_

 _"_ _It's a girl?"_

 _"_ _I don't know. I'm not that far along. I just- When Ceros told me, I pictured a girl."_

 _"_ _How long have you known?"_

 _"_ _I'm not sure. I found out in Crocus. I twisted my ankle going down the stairs in the Embassy. Ceros told me when she healed my ankle."_

 _"_ _That must've been yesterday."_

 _"_ _This was not how I was picturing telling you. I was thinking a World's Greatest Dad mug." Kaleb made a sound that was somewhere between a laugh and a sob. "And don't tell Arman. I want to see his face."_

 _"_ _You'll have to survive this," he said, turning back to her._

 _"_ _Hope for the best. Prepare for the worst."_

 _He opened the door and she followed him out. The door swung shut and Lucy let out a piercing scream. Her nails dug into her skin as if she was trying to scrape it off._

 _"_ _Lucy, stop," he said, grabbing ahold of her. "Stop."_

 _"_ _Kaleb? I'm- I'm-" She shoved away from him and started pacing. "Oh, it's on the tip of my tongue. Call… Oh, blarq. You've gotta call- Call Ghostbusters! No, that's not right._

 _"_ _Sting. Call Sting. 'You'll remember me when the west wind moves upon the fields of barley. You'll forget the sun in his jealous sky as we walk in fields of gold,'" she sang. "No. No! Minerva. Call Minerva. Oh, lady wisdom. No. That's not right."_

 _She was crying and pulling at her hair._

 _"_ _Lucy, stop!" Kaleb said, pulling her to his chest. When she'd calmed down, he let her take a step back._

 _"_ _I'm sorry, my love," she said._

 _He didn't know when he hand had gotten claws, but she dug them into his side as if she was trying to pull the mating mark from his body. The scream that tore out of him was nothing like he thought he could produce and knocked him from her mind._

.~*~.

"Have you found Natsu?" Wendy asked when Rhiannon and Vander arrived.

"Not yet. Is Levy here?" Rhiannon asked.

"Yeah, I'll go get her," Chelia said, getting up from the couch.

"The morning sickness has kicked in," Wendy said.

Rhiannon turned to Vander. "We need tae blether about whether we're having bairns or not," she said.

"Do you want them?" Vander asked.

"Not for a long time… If ever."

"Then you'd better hope someone starts poppin' out babies to keep Dad distracted."

Rhiannon cringed when Levy walked down the stairs looking green around the edges with Gajeel hovering behind her. Once everyone was seated, she said, "Lucy's missing too."

"What?" Wendy and Gajeel both erupted.

"Sit. You're not helping," Levy said, yanking Gajeel's arm down. "What do you know?"

"That's just it. There's something I'm not seeing an' I cannae figure it out," Rhiannon said. "They also took Beck, a beast master mage from White Sea. I think they're going to try an' break the mating. Kaleb agrees that Beck would be the most likely to know."

"Makes sense. Without her mate, she's not Queen. Without a Queen, the tatsu would dissolve," Levy said.

"I get that, but why take Natsu?"

"Wha- Excuse me." Levy ran to the first floor bathroom.

"I think the stress is messing her up," Wendy said.

Rhiannon turned to Vander. "Nope. Not a chance in hell. I will neuter ye myself."

"Would Acnologia have a use for Natsu?" Levy asked as she walked back in.

 _"_ _And I look forward to destroying that smug bastard's little brother."_

"Oh…" Rhiannon said. "Is that possible? It could be possible."

"Wanna fill in the rest of the class?" Vander asked.

"Zeref is four hundred years old. The Eclipse slayers are from four hundred years ago. Is it impossible for Natsu tae be Zeref's wee brother?"

"Why would you think that?" Wendy asked.

"I ran intae Acnologia one other time. He dinae try tae kill me this time. But he said that he wanted tae kill 'that smug bastard's little brother.' If he was talking about Zeref, that means he must have a wee brother that I'm guessing Acnologia was warned tae stay away from."

"Natsu would never intentionally hurt Lucy," Wendy said.

"But they were mates. Potentials anyways," Chelia said.

"Oh gods," Levy muttered. "If they successfully break the mating bonds, she'll instinctively go searching for the closest potential."

Vander's comm chimed and answered it.

"Something's wrong," Meredy said from Cristoff's comm. "You need to get back here."

"Okay."

Rhiannon, who heard, nodded.

"Keep us in the loop," Gajeel said when they stood.

"As if you'd let us go after her without you," Vander said before grabbing ahold of Rhiannon and jumping.

Cristoff was struggling to heal the injuries that appeared on Kaleb.

"What happened?"

"I don't know, Meredy said. Her eyes were wide, and she chewed her lip as she watched Cristoff. "Everything was fine then suddenly he screamed and started bleeding."

"Lucy…" Kaleb gasped as Cristoff's healing started to take hold. "Pregnant."

Everything seemed to freeze. Even Cristoff's magic faltered.

"Did he just-"

"I call dibs on telling Dad!" Vander said.

"No!" Kaleb said, bolting up. "You can't tell Dad."

"Lay back down," Cristoff said, shoving him over.

"She said she'd come home if she got to tell Dad. You can't tell him."

"What else did she say?"

"Call Sting. Something about Minerva."

Meredy dialed Sabertooth.

"Hello?" Rogue said.

"I'm looking for Minerva," Meredy said.

"Us too. Why are you looking for her?"

"Lucy's missing. Kaleb was able to reach her and she said something about Minerva."

"Of course… I told Sting redemption isn't for everyone," he muttered. "We'll deal with it."

"I don't think you understand the severity of the situation. She's no longer Lucy of Fairy Tail getting kidnapped again. She's Lucy Heartfilia, Mistress of White Sea."

"We're moving into diplomatic crisis area, aren't we?"

"Potentially…"

Since mating and promising with Cristoff, Meredy had taken to learning the politics between Bosco's neighboring countries. Beyond the already close relationship between Lucy and Cristoff, it had brought the two women closer as Lucy was always willing to her questions. And more than a few times they'd ended up in a three-way debate with Farron.

"Well, shit. Isn't Farron in Stella?"

"Yeah. We'll see what we can do on our side to try to keep things from blowing up." Meredy walked back into the bedroom. "Minerva has been missing from Crocus since yesterday as well."

Kaleb tried to get up but Cristoff forced him back down.

"Whatever she did, my magic is struggling to heal it. You need to rest."

"Just because we know she's missing, doesn't mean we know where she is," Vander said.

"Fine. Find her," Kaleb said through clenched teeth.

Vander turned to Meredy and his mate. "Are you okay separating?"

Cristoff flinched. This would be the furthest they'd been separated but he knew what his brother was thinking. Meredy would have more underworld contacts throughout Ishgar. Possibly more than Vander.

"Yeah, but you should get Erik."

"You should go downstairs to the storeroom and get a set of earbuds. They'll be easier than the comms," Cristoff said, standing up. "Have Thane take you. He can bring the other three up for us."

"Three?" Meredy asked.

"Bix. We're taking his mate as well."

"Oh, just fucking kiss already," Kaleb snarled.

The two couples kissed before leaving Cristoff with an irate Kaleb. Cristoff gave his older brother a look that said in no uncertain terms that he'd physically knock him out if need be.

"Until you have a better way of finding them, this is what needs to be done," Cristoff said, not bothering to look at the way that the lacrima was pulsing. "And if you don't get better control of your emotions, I'm gonna dump you in the woods somewhere. Maybe Rhiannon's island."

Kaleb took a deep breath. "She's pregnant, Cris."

"I know."


	42. Chapter 41

**On the second day of Christmas...**

Emery was preparing to leave when Acnologia arrived.

"Hey. You were gone when I woke."

"Motherglare and I have been in Bellum."

She frowned. They'd been going off a lot without her. They were expecting her not to read the news. "Where is he now?" she asked.

"Still in Bellum. Along the Joyan border now. Where are you going?"

"To see Zen."

"That won't be necessary."

"What did you do?" Emery asked Acnologia, narrowing her brown eyes.

"What I had to."

She made a sharp gasp. "You didn't. Please tell me that you didn't tell Zeref to call in the Joyans."

He slapped her. "Don't forget that I'm the one in charge."

"Then why do you fear me?" she asked harshly before shoving past him.

"Don't you dare talk to me like that," he said, grapping her and pulling her to his chest. She thrashed against him, telling him to let her go.

His magic thrummed against her. It bruised her. It made her lust after him. Finally, she turned and kissed him.

There was always a part of Her dragon soul that urged her to pull his soul out. She now understood that was Dalviama trying to avenge her mate through her. For the first time, she listened.

His soul tasted foul. Like old coffee and soured milk. She almost gagged on it.

His grip loosened until he fell to the ground. She knew he still lived and release the soul to eventually return to him.

 ** _This would all be over if you just killed him,_** Dalviama said.

 _I love him. I'm not-_

 ** _He's an abusive falzing. I don't understand why you don't see that._**

 _Do all slayers have to listen to their dragons like this?_

 ** _No. You only do because I wasn't dying when my soul was put in the lacrima._**

 ** _You know he won't forgive you for this, don't you?_**

Emery hesitated as she picked up the teleportation lacrima. She ran to her bedroom and grabbed her parents' wedding rings before teleporting out.

.~*~.

It had been nearly three days with no word. Both Meredy and Vander's contacts confirmed the Pergrande and Joya were siding with Alvarez. However, they were struggling to find information on where the missing mages were being held.

According to Rogue, until Minerva released Lucy from her dimension bubble, neither the mating bond or the knighthood would be able to track her.

What worried Cristoff in particular was the fact that typically someone could only survive three days before critical dehydration set in. As awful as it was, he hoped Rhiannon was right because that meant they needed her alive.

"Mr. Cristoff," Thane said as Cristoff walked past his office to the elevator for Kaleb's apartment. "A call came to the guild for Master Kaleb but I'm not it would be beneficial for him given his current state of mind."

"Hello?" Cristoff said when Thane handed him the comm.

"You're not Master Pradesh," the feminine voice said.

"No. I'm his lieutenant and brother, Cristoff Pradesh. Who is this?"

"Emery Cuore."

There was a sharp intake of air followed by a low growl.

"Where is my brother and Queen?"

"The capital of Joya. And hurry. I'm assuming Zeref is the only reason Sydelle hasn't bound Zen to her yet."

"And you're certain she hasn't?"

"I'm a few miles outside the city and I can still _feel_ him."

"Will you help us?"

There was a moment of silence before she said, "Yes. This isn't what I wanted to happen. I don't know if Lucy is here, but I'd guess that she is."

"They wouldn't take her to Spriggan?"

Her tone was surprised when she said, "Zeref is Emperor Spriggan."

Cristoff froze as he headed up to his brother. They'd known Zeref was calling the shots in Alvarez, but they'd been assuming that he was manipulating Spriggan or that the two were partners.

"Thank you."

"Thank me when this is over."

He was already making calls to ensure that the Saberfox was ready by the time that he got to the guildmaster suite. Kaleb had stopped going down to his office and was instead breaking his cardinal rule of never working from home. His emotions were making his magic fluctuate dangerously.

 _I know where she is_ , Cristoff thought before daring to enter.

The door flung open. "Where?"

"Joya." Cristoff watched as Kaleb froze. Even the pulsing of the lacrima at his throat stopped. "I already called to make final preparations for the Saberfox. Van and Meredy are due back in a few."

"Did they target her to get to me?"

"No, but I'm willing to be that they'll have traps planned for you. She's Queen of a tatsu. _The_ tatsu. She'd have been a target regardless."

"Yeah…" Kaleb murmured.

Farron had called as soon as he found out about Lucy's kidnapping. He blamed himself for asking Lucy to deal with Fiore. While Kaleb would admit that part of him did begrudge his brother, Lucy was right when she said that they were preparing for war and needed to make sure everyone was on the same page. Presumably, she'd have been safe. The only things on her agenda were meetings at the castle and lunch with her father. For neither of those things would she have been able to bring another dragon. He and Cristoff had responsibilities at the guild that kept them in Bosco and they couldn't risk pissing off an ally by having Vander or Rogue shadow her.

"I told everyone to meet us at the skyport." Their father, with help from the royal family, had made sure that the Saberfox would be ready as soon as they knew where they were going.

"Are you sure you're stable enough to go?" Cristoff asked. "It's going to take six hours to get there."

"I'm sure as hell not staying."

"Then get control of yourself. At this rate, you'd crash the ship as soon as we got off the ground."

Kaleb nodded, closed his eyes, and took a few deep breaths.

"Okay. Let's go."

Despite why they were on the airship, Vander found himself amused by the childlike awe on Rhiannon's face as she gawked out the window. She was so jaded that he never thought that he'd have a chance to an awestruck expression like that. Except the time he'd made her orgasm with his shadows. That face was rather amazed as well.

"King Altiene would like to see us do this without killing Sydelle," Farron said from Stella.

"That might not be possible," Cristoff said.

"While he's not wrong that killing her would create a power vacuum, it might also be enough chaos to give us a little edge," Farron added.

"I vote we lie and say we tried," Vander said.

"I can't lie," Kaleb said.

"But he isn' wrong," Rhiannon said, still not looking away from the window. "Some people need killin'."

"Now I understand why the Fates made you mates," Presca muttered drily.

"What do your calculations say?" Farron asked.

She was silent long enough to make Vander walk over and wrap his arms around her shoulders.

"What's wrong?" he asked softly.

"I give it an hour tops for them tae realize Emery sold them out. An' that's the best case scenario."

"Most likely?"

She glanced at Cristoff who kept shifting from one foot to another but there were no signs in his expression that he even realized that he was being antsy.

"Less. Kaleb, ye should sit."

"Why?"

Almost as soon as the word was out of his mouth, he collapsed. His body started convulsing and the lacrima was nearly blinding. His mouth gaped open like he was screaming but no sound was coming out.

"How did you know that?" Vander asked as Xally and Cristoff immediately went to Kaleb.

"I dinnae ken how tae break a matin', but there's no way it isn' painful," she said, her gaze soft.

.~*~.

"If your certain they're coming, why haven't you mated the archangel?" Invel asked Sydelle.

"I've tried," the warqueen said through clenched teeth. "I've managed to make him hard. To fuck him, but that damned key is protecting him. We can't figure out why we can't remove it and the chain refuses to break."

"And Miss Heartfilia?"

Sydelle led Invel to the observation window for the room Lucy was in. She was bound to a bed with heavy cuffs though the strain to the floor and the bed from her thrashing was visible. It was hard to tell if she was conscious or not.

There was a strange distortion in the room as Minerva muted Lucy's pull to her mate and her dragons. Lucy wore a slight shift that barely conserved her modesty. Minerva had a wicked smile as she walked around Lucy and lightly touching her. Every touch made her react.

"Normally, we use the chemical to enhance pleasure, but we've tweaked it to enhance pain. The slightest poke feels like a stab wound."

"How will you know if it's working?"

"We've been bringing in Dragneel's vest to see if she reacts to his scent. So far, nothing."

One of the scientists brought in the vest. Then, for the briefest of seconds, she stopped thrashing.

"It's working?"

"I think so."

Emery hated Joya. She had since she was a child and a lilith was assumed to have taken her best friend. There'd been a part of her, a jealous part, that had wondered why they hadn't taken her as well. While Joya was more well-known for their slave trade, they also often abducted girls that showed magical promise to join their ranks.

She'd never been more grateful for that then she was as she walked through the town. Stealing some clothes had been easy enough and no one batted an eye at her coloring. In fact, she noted that it almost seemed as if she received elevated respect because they recognized that she wasn't a native born Joyan.

 ** _Are you going to rescue the Queen?_**

 _No. I'm just going to make sure that they don't do too much damage before the Boscans arrive._

 ** _I suppose that's better than nothing._**

The next time they brought the vest in from Dragneel's cell, Lucy's eyes followed the scientist holding the vest as the woman moved around the room. Even when Minerva poked her, she jerked from the touch, but her gaze never strayed.

"She's ready," one of the scientists said to Sydelle. "Do you want us to wake up the fire dragon slayer?"

"Yes. Make sure the warding will keep him in his room."

"Are you sure waking him is the best idea?" Bryn asked. Bryn was the general that Brandish had released from a jar.

"Yes. From what we know, female dragon slayers demand submission from their mates. He'll need to be conscious to submit."

"Should we use Succubus Venom?"

"No. I don't want to risk it damaging the mating. Besides, with the pheromones she's putting out, I doubt he'd be able to resist her."

The room that they'd prepared for them was mostly bare except for a large bed. It had been Emperor Spriggan that insisted that proper accommodations were made. He didn't want his brother's memory of mating being on the floor of a cell. That didn't stop them from placing cameras to observe the process.

Natsu had just risen from the bed to get his bearings when they pushed Lucy into the room.

"Luce, what's-"

She launched herself at him. He'd forgotten what it felt like to be kissing her. His hands moved to her ass and lifted her so that she wrapped her legs around his waist. The scent of her dragoness pheromones and her natural strawberries and stardust was intoxicating. The shift she was wearing tore easily in his hand as he moved one to cup her breast.

He fumbled back into the bed as her mouth left his and nipped his earlobe. He groaned. It had been so long that he'd forgotten the spots where he was sensitive, but she hadn't. Gray had told him to go to a bathhouse and he'd tried but it hadn't been right.

She leaned back, her hands on his shoulder pushing him into the bed. "Submit."

The haze seemed to lift though it didn't ease the erection of her grinding her hips. This was the second time she'd demanded that from him. The first time, his instinct had been to submit. Even now, part of him wanted to let Lucy take what she needed from him. But more of him remembered, she wasn't his anymore.

He flipped her off and jumped to the other side of the room. "No."

"What?" Her voice was more of a growl than her usual sweet lilt though there was sincere confusion in her face.

"No. Kaleb. Remember Kaleb?"

It took a moment for the recognition to cross her face and her hands slapped to her abdomen. The oppressive feeling of her pheromones eased up.

From another room, Sydelle said, "Release the sleeping gas. Nadia, was blood taken from Heartfilia?"

"Yes."

Sydelle rewound the video to Lucy slapping her hands over her abdomen. "Run it again and check for pregnancy."

Lucy was crouched in the corner opposite of the door when Sydelle entered.

"Come now. We both know that you're in control of your faculties."

Lucy stood though her eyes stayed narrowed.

"Do you know who I am?"

"Warqueen Sydelle Habred. I'm assuming I'm in Joya."

"Yes. Emperor Spriggan wishes for you to be mated to Natsu Dragneel. And we both know that you're very nearly unmated." Sydelle was walking back and forth with a cocky smile. She was pretending that she didn't know that Lucy was watching every move she made. "It's just that child your carrying that's connecting you to Kaleb Pradesh. I'm certain the pain of fully unmating you will undo the archangel mating as well."

"There's no warding here. They're going to come for me."

"They already have. Left nearly six hours ago. By my estimation, I still have two hours. I can do a lot in two hours."

Lucy scoffed. "Like you said, you can't completely unmate me."

"No. But there's a ritual that would allow me to steal your child right from your womb. And do you know how long I've been trying to carry Kaleb Pradesh's child?"

Lucy froze, her hands immediately moving to protect her child.

"There's still even time for me to manipulate the gender to ensure a daughter. She won't be biologically mine but the child of a dragon slayer and an archangel, she'll make a damned good heir."

"You won't touch my child," Lucy growled.

"Then I guess you have a decision to make. Claim Dragneel of your own free will or once I take your child, you won't have the strength _not_ to claim him."

"You're bluffing."

"The ritual is taxing but doable. Kaleb is an archangel. I'm a celestial mage. And once I'm carrying his child, are you certain that he'd be able to resist me?"

She closed her eyes and said, "Fine. I'll claim Natsu."

 **My Ao3 is still enchantedbeauty.**


	43. Chapter 42

**On the third day of Christmas, my evil author gave to me...**

 _"_ _That was a fucking disaster," Lucy groaned as they walked away from the dark guild they'd been hired to destroy._

 _It had started off smoothly enough until they realized that they'd been trapped in a series of illusions. Lucy was the first to realize that they couldn't create a plan without the mage realizing what they were doing. She'd managed to relay that to Gray and Erza but Natsu… Natsu was so dense that nothing short of spelling it out would work. That resulted in his go-to: blast everything._

 _"_ _I thought it was fun. He wasn't super easy like the others."_

 _Lucy muttered a few expletives under her breath._

 _"_ _Sorry," he said, going to drape his arm over her shoulders before freezing when she shot him a glare. To her other side, Gray made a whiplash sound._

 _"_ _Knock it off," Lucy said before they could start fighting._

 _"_ _Yes, Ma'am," both men said._

 _"_ _See, you're just as bad as I am. At least I'm-"_

 _"_ _Finish that sentence. I dare you," Lucy said, shifting into her 'Scary Lucy' mode. She was tired and wishing that it wasn't Horologium's day off so that she could get an hour off her feet. The train station was at least another two hours' walk._

 _She rubbed the bridge of her nose. "We should come up with a code in case we're in a situation like that again."_

 _"_ _That's stupid," Natsu muttered._

 _"_ _I think it's a wonderful idea. Don't you?" Erza said with a pointed look at the two men._

 _"_ _Aye, Sir!"_

 _"_ _How about we start with something simple? Green for go and red for stop."_

 _"_ _Red is the color of fire! It should obviously be go," Natsu argued._

 _"_ _Fine. Red for go and-" Lucy glanced at the blue guild mark on Gray's chest- "and blue for freeze or stop. And Gray, your shirt."_

 _"_ _Shit," he cursed, turning around to retrieve it._

 _"_ _What color should be caution or unknown danger?" Lucy asked._

 _"_ _Pink," Happy said._

 _"_ _Why?" Lucy asked._

 _"_ _Because you don't look powerful, but you're actually really scary."_

 _"_ _I can't decide if that's an insult or not," Lucy muttered._

 _"_ _I think it's perfect. It's a shame my mark is blue too."_

.~*~.

Lucy was pushed back into the room. Like she had been, Natsu was standing in the corner. She almost laughed at the way that he was pretending that his gaze wasn't drifting down to her breasts then bouncing back up to her face.

"Don't do this," he said when she was standing in front of him.

"I'm pregnant, Natsu. She threatened my baby."

"Luce…"

She pressed against him and made a move like she was going for his ear again. "Door. Red."

There was a flicker of confusion before he spun around.

"Fire dragon roar!" "Etamin!"

The blast from their combined attacks created a large hole. Lucy pitched forward only for Natsu to catch her.

"I'm low on magic. Minerva's dimension hold drains it."

"We've gotta get outta here. Where are your keys?"

"Draco, my keys." Her voice was sleepy, but she caught her keys when they appeared in a golden shower like her spirits. She leaned heavily against him.

"Come on," he said. "What's the plan?"

"Kaleb and the others just got here. If they're not ours, knock 'em down. I don't care how hard. Sydelle's mine."

"You sure you got the strength for that?"

"I will."

She pitched forward again and gave Natsu a grateful look when he caught her. He then squatted down in front of her. "Get on."

"But-"

"You can barely walk. Get on."

She made a whining noise but let herself be picked up. "I'm glad out of everyone it was you in there."

"No one else would've understood," he said.

"I'm glad you remembered."

His better hearing allowed him to follow the sounds of the fighting farther upstairs.

"Wait. We need to find Zen."

"They can handle it," he said.

"Natsu!" she said, trying to shove herself off him.

"Look, you're my Queen. Protecting you is my priority until I have a mate. Speaking of which, who is my mate?"

"That is a very good question that I don't have an answer to. Cristoff I could sense. But everyone else was pretty much mated by the time I became Queen."

"You're sounding better."

"Must be night." Her nose twitched. "Wait."

Natsu whined but stopped and backed up to the door they'd just passed at her urging. When the door was locked, she gestured for him to force it open. It was a trophy room of sorts, but she ignored that in favor of the small meteor in a glass box.

"Careful, please," she said as he broke the box open.

"Is that what I think it is?"

"Yup. Thank the stars that she's a celestial mage too. Otherwise, she might not have kept it."

It only took Lucy a few seconds to devour the entire stone.

"Good?"

She summoned Leo's stardress. "No, but better. Good enough to split up."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah. Zen is in here somewhere and if I was Sydelle, he's where I'd go." The two mages high fived outside the room then ran off in opposite directions.

Emery smirked when she saw the airship hovering above the castle. She'd been sneaking around, knowing that she'd have limited success and probably get someone killed if she tried to pull Zen or Lucy out before they arrived.

It had taken her awhile to find the armory. Once again, her coloring worked in her favor. As long as she looked like she belonged, no one looked too hard at her. She stuck a knife with a lacrima in the pommel into her boot and picked up a short sword.

It was a familiar weight in her hand though one she hadn't felt in a while. Her dad, between quests, had shown her how to use it. She never got good enough to not see the look of disappointment in his face, but she knew she could hold her own. For a year and a half, after her father had left on his final quest with a boy a little older than her, she dedicated herself to proving her father wrong. The boy came home. Her father didn't.

Looking at it, it made her wonder what happened to hers. She remembered surprising Acnologia in a sparring match and then it disappeared. There'd never been a reason to question it at the time.

She slipped away from the public façade of the castle and down into the underbelly. It was where she could sense Zen as well as Lucy. The dragon kept warning her that the fact that Lucy's pull was weakening was dangerous.

As the sounds of the castle responding to the hovering airship escalated, she had to hide more. Especially as she moved further down. More people there would know that she didn't belong.

"You know, if the goal is to minimize damage, showing up like this probably isn't a good idea," Vander commented as the pilot set the airship down. They were in the cargo bay, knowing that they'd need to go in prepared to fight.

"Sydelle won't run if she thinks she has leverage over me," Kaleb said.

"She does," Rhiannon commented drily.

"Not helping," Vander muttered.

"What's the plan?" Cristoff asked.

"Mates stick together. I don't want anyone getting distracted. Gajeel, stick with Wendy and Chelia. Presca, you're with Vander. Xally, you're running things from up here."

Xally wanted to argue but she knew that her brother was thinking about the last time they'd been in a situation like this. He'd nearly lost Lucy that time and he wasn't willing to risk not only Lucy but their child.

"Come back safe," Xally said, kissing Presca before giving the rest of them a nod.

Before splitting up, Bickslow grabbed Cristoff. "Make sure Kaleb doesn't get himself kidnapped. We both know he's barely restraining himself. But I'm almost more scared of what Lucy will do."

Cristoff nodded. Even as weakened as their mating bond was, she could tap into his strength.

Rhiannon kissed Vander. "Have fun storming the castle," she said as she went to follow Xally back into the main section of the airship.

Vander grabbed the back of her shirt. "Where are you going? You're coming with us."

"Excuse me? I'm not a combat mage."

"No, but archival magic is built off rune magic. You're the best one for dealing with any rune seals."

"But I- I'm not a combat mage."

"C'mon."

Cristoff and Meredy went with Kaleb in one direction. Laxus and Emzadi went high with Bickslow and Erik following. Gajeel, Wendy, and Chelia went the opposite direction.

"Where are we going?" Rhiannon asked as she and the two men went straight.

"Information. We know they're siding with Zeref and Alvarez," Vander said.

"Chaos is the-"

The group was stopped by a mixture of soldiers and pleasure slaves from both sides. Presca and Vander immediately shifted into defensive positions with Rhiannon between them.

"How many-" Presca said.

"Too many." Vander turned to Rhiannon. "We could use a path, Rhia."

"And you want me to do what about that?" she asked.

"Roar, damnit," Presca said as a soldier nicked him. "Preferably before we're all killed."

Rhiannon's gaze bounced between them. Trying to protect her and themselves was forcing them to make sloppy mistakes. She shoved Vander out of the way and closed her eyes. "Earth dragon roar!"

Her ears were ringing as she felt Vander jostle her a second later by throwing her over his shoulder.

"Did I do that?" she asked staring at the bodies on the ground. "I did that. How did I do that?"

"You're a dragon slayer."

"Yeah, but that's the first time that I did that," she said, gawking at the destruction. Besides the bodies, there was damage done to the walls as well, so they were having to navigate bricks.

"I think you've shot the structural integrity of the building," Presca added.

"Uh…oops? Are you gonna put me down?"

"Nope. It's easier with you up there."

"What the fuck was that?" Emzadi said as an explosion on a lower floor rocked the castle.

"I'd have said Natsu, but I don't sense him," Laxus said.

"No, I think it was Rhiannon's first roar," Erik said.

"Well, damn."

Emzadi stopped and looked down the top floor hallway. While her brother and his mate immediately went to run one direction, Laxus noticed that she hadn't moved.

"What is it?"

"The sun's setting so it's not as strong, but I can feel it. They wouldn't have kept Lucy up here. It's probably why we haven't seen anyone yet."

"Where then?"

"Basement?" Emzadi said. "Do you think you could find your way down? Or hear your way down, I guess."

"Yeah. Probably."

Gajeel was impressed with how well Wendy and Chelia worked together. He'd seen it briefly while training with them. Many of Chelia's attacks required more physicality from her.

Even before mating, the two women had spent a lot of time training with one another. So much so, they could read each other's attacks in how they moved. Twice, Wendy stopped him from moving into an attack.

Wendy still had an emphasis on support magic but had learned some combative magic as well. They were mainly staying on the defensive and keeping any Joyan soldiers from taking the ship.

He loved Levy, but he couldn't help but wonder if this was how mates were supposed to fight when side-by-side.

"What is it?" Wendy asked, looking up at the fellow dragon slayer.

"Just wondering when the pipsqueak became a badass."

"Psh," she snorted. "I was already a badass, thank you very much."

"Ghihihi. Sure, Shorty," he said, ruffling her hair.

In the relatively tight quarters of the hallways, Cristoff and Kaleb were relying on their swords. Kaleb's eyes were lit up as he caught every soldier in his magic to see who knew where Lucy or Zen were.

"Damnit," Kaleb kept muttering. He was barely keeping from turning many of them into vegetables.

"Calm down," Cristoff warned.

"These are just pawns. None of them know anything," Kaleb raged when he stopped.

"I know that but-"

"You're asking the wrong question," Meredy said as she directed one of her blades into a guard.

"Then what?" he asked.

"If these guards are all over the first floor, _how_ do they not know anything?"

"Basements," Cristoff and Kaleb both breathed.

"That would be my guess," Meredy said. "Now find someone who knows how to get down."

"Have I mentioned that you're brilliant?" Cristoff asked before kissing her.

"Yup. C'mon."

Emery was both surprised and grateful that she didn't find Sydelle with Zen. She glanced at the sword in her hand with blood on its blade. In her head, Dalviama was mocking her for her squeamishness with how much blood was metaphorically on her hands.

She shoved the blade into the scabbard at her hip and pulled out the smaller blade that she'd stuck in her boot. Through the knife, she channeled her magic into the seals that were locking the room.

After the first guard found her as she worked, she kept the sword at her side as well.

"Fucking hell. I used to be good at this," she muttered.

 ** _Try a 6x7 code_** **.**

 _How the fuck?_ Emery asked when it worked.

 ** _It was the original code. All magic is built off it. Think of it like the code at the center of the universe._**

"Zen? If you could wake up, that would be really helpful right now." The runes keeping Zen on the board were easily undone. She was scared to touch him. Instead, she grabbed a pair of gloves that were left in the room. "Seriously, Zen. I'm not sure I can hold you up."

"Don't worry," he said, gruffly.

The first hand that she'd cut loose shot out and wrapped around her neck. As soon as his skin touched hers, she felt her celestial magic pressing down Dalviama's presence. It was rather peaceful. Until she realized that might be lack of blood flow to her brain.

"Zen," she squeaked.

He wasn't sure how long he'd been trapped in that room. He'd felt the magic and chemicals they pumped into him. Had felt each of the woman's attempts at claiming him mid-sex.

The other constant was Andromeda and Cassiopeia. Lucy had placed a seal on the necklace that no one could remove it against his will with an additional precaution that Andromeda had to also be willing to let it be removed. The two spirits were reinforcing the enchantment from the celestial realm.

His eyes cracked open and the first thing that he saw were brown eyes staring up at him fearfully.

"L- Emery?" he said, letting her go.

"Yeah." She rubbed her neck.

"I'm sorry. I didn't-"

"I know. I need to finish getting you free."

"Why are you here?" he asked while watching her work.

"Freeing you. I warned you that I was the lesser of two evils. Can you walk?"

He stood but had to hold onto the X-frame to stay upright. That didn't surprise Emery. They would need him hungry and barely lucid, so they'd have given barest minimum to survive. From what she understood about archangels, it would take a lot to kill him.

"Okay. C'mon."

She shivered at his touch when she held him up. The urge to claim him thrummed under her skin. As was a more unfamiliar feeling of wanting to find somewhere to curl up with him. The fact that there was nothing to cover him with wasn't helping.

"You can't fight and carry me," he said.

"I'll figure that out on the way."

Lucy rounded a corner and found Kaleb. Their mating bond was so tenuous that she'd almost been scared to use it to find him. Cristoff's bond was much stronger. Probably because beyond them being Queen and Knight, they were almost like step-siblings through their dragons.

"Kaleb," she breathed before running to him.

"Lucy." He dropped his sword before catching her.

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry," she cried between quick kisses.

"Tower. I'm serious this time."

"Your dad will be pissed to be denied easy access to his grandbaby."

"He'll deal."

"As sweet as this is, we still need to find Zen, Natsu, and Beck," Meredy said.

"Natsu and I split up. He was heading up to find you and I was looking for Zen since I'd be able to sense him. Beck's here?"

Kaleb nodded while still holding Lucy. "We think he's how they learned to unmate us."

He knew she was reigning in the impulse to say leave him there as she nuzzled his neck. They were both reigning in the impulse to have sex. Renew their bond. He didn't try very hard to pull her off.

"He's probably been moved to be reprogrammed. There might not be much left of him. I think it's gotta be on this floor."

"What makes you so sure?" Cristoff asked as he approached to check her out.

Lucy shifted so that he could reach her abdomen. "I didn't smell sex downstairs. It was more, I don't know, chemical. Like a hospital."

"Fair point. The baby's still healthy. Not quite a month along, so you're right. Conception was probably during your mating."

She smiled at Kaleb. "We're having a baby."

 _There's something else. I'm not sure what it is but there's something in her blood that's resisting my magic_ , Cristoff said.

 _Is it bad?_ Kaleb asked.

 _I don't know._

 _Meredy, can you put a sensory link on Lucy without her noticing?_

 _Um…yeah? Are you sure that's a good idea?_ Meredy answered Kaleb.

 _Probably not, but without knowing if something further is wrong, I'd like to try to keep her from being able to hurt herself or others._

"That's amazing," Meredy said, reaching for her hand but grabbing her wrist first on accident then sliding her hand down to squeeze it. "Maybe it'll keep Arman off the rest of our backs for a while."

"You haven't told him yet, right? I wanted to tell him," Lucy said as the group started moving.

"No."

 _I've got Lucy. We're still looking for Zen, Natsu, and Beck. Lucy thinks they'll be on the first floor or in the basements._

 _We just got Natsu,_ Gajeel said. _Followed his nose to us. Knocked him out and put him on the ship. Must've been out of magic to go down that easily._

 _I've got a trail on the reprogramming,_ Erik said. _Sounds like someone is resisting the reprogramming._

 _I think we found Sydelle's office_ , Vander said.

 _She has her generals in jars. That's new_ , Rhiannon commented.

 _We're going to go after Zen. Emi, Laxus, stay with Erik and Bix in case you need to jump quickly. Go for Beck. Van, don't push too far. Find whatever you can on Alvarez's plan and get out._

 _And Sydelle?_ Vander asked.

 _She's mine,_ Lucy growled.

They were silent except for Lucy's directions. Emzadi alerted them when they'd found Beck. Zen was on the move but slowly. Beyond that, they were struggling to find another set of stairs down. Between trying to reign in his impulses and keeping the active connection with his siblings, he suspected that Lucy was right about Zen being somewhere more isolated downstairs because he couldn't reach out to him.

Instead, they found Sydelle waiting for them. The hallway had widened out to an antechamber of sorts. It was empty except for the warqueen. She had swords in each hand.

Lucy dropped from Kaleb and shifted into Cancer's stardress. Kaleb stopped Cristoff from intervening.

"You hurt me. You hurt my mate. You threatened my baby," Lucy said lowly as she prowled towards Sydelle.

"Twinkle, twinkle, little star," Sydelle sang.

Lucy froze then turned back to Kaleb. Her face was slack and there was nothing of her soul in her eyes.

"I suppose I probably have you to thank for forcing your way into her mind while she was in Minerva's dimensional bubble. The thing about it is that after a day or so, it'll drive a person insane. She was practically comatose. Made her very malleable. Then, of course, had another mind mage that works with rebuilding our pleasure slaves return her sanity. Needed her to take Spriggan's little brother after all." Sydelle smiled. "So, Kaleb. Trade yourself for your pregnant mate."

Sydelle propped her head on Lucy's head and placed a hand onto her stomach. Kaleb swallowed but trusted his brother and walked forward.

"Don't forget: without a direct order from her, you can't hurt me."

"I know."

It took only a few seconds for Cristoff to put Meredy asleep and set her down. At the same time, Kaleb caught Lucy as she collapsed in Sydelle's lax grip. Cristoff jumped and appeared behind Sydelle with his sword to her throat.

"He can't touch you, but I can," Cristoff growled.

"How do we undo your mind control?" Kaleb demanded and nodded slightly for Cristoff to press harder. "How?"

When Sydelle continued just to sneer, Kaleb tried his luck at pressing into her mind. He couldn't kill her because Lucy wanted to do that, but he hunted through her mind with every intention of not bothering to care if she ended up brain dead.

She fought against him. Then, surprising both men, she stabbed herself with the sword. It was obvious that she'd been hoping it would go through her and get Cristoff as well, but she didn't have the strength to do it. Kaleb had to pull himself out of her mind before he was trapped as well. Cristoff dropped her in surprise and watched as a pool of blood formed.

"Well?"

"It has to be re-administered. She wasn't sure when her last dose had been or how long it would last."

"We're shooting blind without her and we don't know what we'll find if we wake her now."

"I know. Jump them to the Saberfox. We'll-"

Suddenly, a loud siren went through the castle and it began to shake.

"What's going on?" Kaleb asked as the question was echoed through his link with his siblings. His link with Meredy was still strong and he heard her question what was happening from her suppressed conscious mind and answered.

 _It's the Culling. It's primarily used for population control within the castle._

 _Now, you tell us,_ Erik snarked.

 _Before now, it was just a rumor. Sydelle's never used it during her tenure as High Warqueen. It's also called the Queen's Revenge because it automatically activates if the queen is killed in the castle_ , Meredy informed them.

 _We need tae get outta here,_ Rhiannon said _._

 _We haven't found Zen,_ Kaleb said.

 _There's gotta be safe places for those meant to survive the Culling. The best we can hope for is that they find one of those places,_

"Damn it," Kaleb cursed, but let Cristoff jump the two women and then him out to the Saberfox.

"Maybe Emery has him," Rhiannon said. "She said she'd be here, right?"

"Yeah. Maybe."

None of them sounded confident. It was hard with the background noise of screaming. The walls of the castle seemed to be shifting in random patterns.

"It reminds me of the Gildarts Shift in Magnolia," Wendy said.

"You're right," Laxus said. "With the structural damage that we caused, there could be worse damage or less."

"There," Kaleb said finally.

"What?"

"I think I found Zen. He's really weak, but I found him."

There were multiple sighs of relief. Now, they just had to wait and hope he stayed safe.

When the castle started shaking, a room revealed itself and Emery shoved Zen into it. It wasn't much bigger than a closet, so she found herself in his lap. As rocks and the walls seemed to collapse around them, he opened his wings to shield them.

"Sorry," he said. His voice was so soft that if she hadn't been pressed into him, she wouldn't have heard it. His fingers traced absentminded patterns on her skin that sent shivers down her spine.

"I should have warned you better. I knew that if I didn't secure you, they'd get the Joyans."

"Why didn't you let them in the first place?"

"Because no one should be a slave. I think it's stopped shaking."

"Yeah." When she stood, he muttered, "I guess some things really are genetic."

"Door's gone," she said. "Looks like there's a small hole so at least we'll hear your family call for you." She slowly moved along the limited perimeter. "There's a space here."

"But?"

"But I don't think it's large enough for you," she said, her face flushing as she surveyed his naked form.

"Go."

"How do you know I'll get help?"

"Because you will."

They both quieted when they heard the sounds of his brothers' loud voices.

"Guess I won't need to," she said before yelling for them.

As they approached, a strawberry-blond head poked through the opening.

"Found you," the man said.

"Serena."

"It's God Serena," he corrected.

"Not calling you that."

"C'mon. Before they get here."

"Yeah. I'll come out in a sec." God Serena arched an eyebrow before shrugging and disappearing back down the path he'd made.

"Don't go."

"I-"

"You're not alone. Four hundred years ago, Anna Heartfilia had a younger brother who died in a dragon attack. His widow took their daughter and left. The only thing she took with her was his keys that would be handed down through multiple generations."

"What are you saying?"

"You know exactly what I'm saying. Andy was asking around in the Celestial Realm. I was going to tell you when we next saw each other. Please stay."

She gave him a sad smile. "It changes nothing. I have too much blood on my hands to stay."

"Emery. We need to go," God Serena said, sticking his head back into the room.

"Goodbye." Throwing caution into the wind, Emery leaned over and kissed Zen. The need to claim him intensified and part of her knew that she was going to take a part of him with her.

"Should I tell Acnologia about that?" God Serena mocked.

"You have enough dragon lacrima shoved up your ass, I'm pretty sure that I could kill you if you did," she said.

The path he created led all the way out of the town and into the hills that flanked the town. Once above ground, he passed Emery a teleportation lacrima.

"I'm not going," she said, dropping it to the ground.

"What?"

"We both know that they're going to kill me. I'm not going."

"I can-"

God Serena moved to grab her, but she grabbed his head instead and pulled him down into a kiss. Unlike with Acnologia, she didn't stop herself from killing him. He tasted a soup with too many conflicting flavors.

"I told you," she said softly as she dropped the body. She turned back to the city and watched as the airship took off.

 ** _Where are you going to go?_** Dalviama asked.

 _I don't know yet. Got any suggestions?_


	44. Chapter 43

**On the fourth day of Christmas, my very apologetic true love gave to me...**

Lucy woke up with a jolt. Her eyes immediately affixed Kaleb's as soon as she recognized his bedroom at the Pradesh Manor.

"What happened?"

"Mind control."

"Is she dead?"

"Yes."

"Okay." Lucy started to relax back into the bed before jolting up again. "Does he know?"

Kaleb smiled. "No. Everyone kept it a secret. Mostly out of fear, I think."

"I'll take it." She didn't care that Kaleb had put her in pajamas and that was what she ran to find Arman in. The patriarch looked bemused at her excitement to find him when she skidded into his office.

"You're looking better," he said, glancing at the amused expression on Kaleb's face when he followed her into the office.

"I hope that I didn't worry you too much, Grandpa Arman," Lucy said.

"Well, I'd hope that you'd…stop… Did you say 'grandpa'?"

Lucy smiled and nodded. Arman surged from behind his desk and scooped Lucy into a bear hug. He then moved to hug Kaleb.

"Where are you going?" Kaleb asked when Arman started to leave.

"I need to brag. And buy, well, everything."

"Dad, we don't even know the gender yet."

"Good point. Everything needs to be gender neutral currently."

Lucy giggled and leaned into Kaleb.

 _Let him be. He's excited and it keeps off Meredy's back. She's not ready,_ Lucy thought. _And I'm pretty sure Rhiannon will adopt before she has any of her own._

 _And Emi?_

 _That's just a matter of time._

Kaleb kissed her temple.

"Which of you are going to tell him about the tower?" Vander asked with a shit eating grin.

"Not it," Lucy said before linking arms with Vander and giving her mate a wink. They'd only made it a few steps before Kaleb came up behind them and picked her up.

"Sorry, but my mate and I need some time alone."

*.*.*

It only took Kaleb a few minutes to get Lucy whimpering for release, but he pulled back. Instead, he moved back up. Once he saw that she'd calmed down, he dove back between her legs again.

When he tried the same stunt again, she flipped him over and hovered above him. That was when she saw his smile and knew the game he was playing.

"Submit," she said.

"For you, always."

She carefully bit the same spot that she had the first time before lowering herself onto him. It wasn't an explosion of magic like it had been the first time. This time, it felt like strings braiding themselves together.

The following morning, he got up with the sun as usual. After confirming that she would sleep for another hour or two with a gentle probe into her mind, he got up. With her gone, his routine had become messed up.

So, while she slept, he went outside to practice flying. Or rather hovering as he found himself unwilling to go further up than his second-floor bedroom where he could see Lucy sleeping. She was tossing and turning a lot more but that didn't raise any red flags. She was generally like that when he got up first.

He felt her scream more than heard it. He landed badly at the front door and scrambled up to the bedroom. Zen had reached her first and was trying to still her as she thrashed.

"Mi Stella," Kaleb cooed as he pulled her to him. She immediately stopped thrashing and calmed down. They had already planned to go home to White Sea but now he was realizing that going would be critical.

Cristoff and Meredy had both gone to the Pelerno branch after dinner. Vander and Rhiannon stayed for dinner as well. Emzadi and Xally had insisted on going with Beck back to White Sea. The Fairy Tail dragon slayers had gone with them, as well as Bickslow and Erik.

 _Bix, we'll be headed back soon. I need you at the suite._

Lucy woke, not realizing that she'd been in the middle of a nightmare, and Kaleb decided not to say anything yet. That didn't stop her from being particularly touchy-feely through breakfast. Kaleb could hear in her mind that she wasn't entirely aware that she was doing that.

She laughed as Arman pulled out a yellow #1 Grandpa onesie. As well as a confession that he'd also had a few special orders that he was refusing to reveal with a warning glare at Kaleb.

During the short flight back to White Sea, she'd sat curled up in his lap and making commentary on one of his projects that he was working on. On her own tablet, she was cataloguing any recent attacks. While there'd been a few while she was kidnapped, Bellum having been hit hard, she noticed that there'd been none in the last twenty-four hours.

"Hm…"

"What?"

"Seven is the poster child for civil unrest but there's been a lot of skirmishes along their coast," she said, show him the map. "There's even been a few in northern Fiore."

"What are you thinking?"

"If he's going to take on Ishgar, these are where he'd be docking. But Fiore would be easier to traverse because of Seven's mountain range a few miles in from the coast."

"But Seven could be easily passed off as it being Seven. Some of these dates are almost two weeks old," Kaleb pointed out.

"But he'd have to come inland eventually." She chewed the corner of her lip. "He'll do it as one big attack. Disorient us from the get-go. Do you have the stuff Van got?"

"Yeah. I'll send it to you."

"Has anyone had any luck with finding out anything about the Spriggan 12?"

"Other than Rhiannon's ability to sense them when they're in Ishgar, no."

"Hm, that's interesting."

"What?"

"It's a report from the Stellan troops holding the Joyan capital. There was a body a couple of miles outside of the city." She opened the picture and looked at it. "He looks familiar."

"Familiar how?"

"I'm not sure." She showed the picture to Kaleb. "Farron wanted to know if you could run him through a recognition system."

"I don't need to. That's God Serena. One of the four Gods of Ishgar. Farron must not have actually looked at the picture because he'd have recognized him as well."

"He disappeared a year or so ago. Wasn't he Bellish? What could have killed him?"

"He had eight dragon lacrima implanted in him. Could Emery have?"

"I don't know… From what I understand, her ultimate killing ability only works on dragons so maybe he had enough in him for it to work."

"Maybe."

*.*.*

As they headed into the guild, there was a round of applause. Mages came up to them to congratulate them for taking down Sydelle. From a safe distance of the crowds, Bickslow watched Lucy.

Lucy's soul had returned to its bright gold color that was more evenly shot through with the dark blue of her dragon soul as well as bits of white from Kaleb's soul. What was new was the flecks of black. He'd seen it, briefly, when he'd checked on her on the Saberfox but had thought that renewing her mating with Kaleb would heal it. Instead, even as he watched, the light was trying to fight it off like it was a stubborn infection.

"Something's wrong," Erik stated, looking at his mate.

"There's a darkness in her that's resisting Kaleb's magic." Bickslow saw the way his brother's eyes snapped towards him but he could only send his brother a mental shrug.

"Do you think it has to do with what happened when he reached into Minerva's pocket dimension?"

"Maybe," Bickslow commented.

"All I hear is her being annoyed with how many men and women are making passes at Kaleb. They haven't had a chance to replace her ring or bracelet."

Bickslow snickered. "How many are _actually_ making passes at him?"

"Other than a few lascivious thoughts directed at both of them, most of them aren't assuming that they ended their engagement. Though, there's a lot of speculation." Erik glanced at his mate. "What are you doing?"

"Asking Thane if he's already ordered them. I don't want to risk that darkness inspiring something that I can't help her with."

"Or, she could do that," Erik said, chuckling.

Bickslow looked up to see Lucy and his brother in a heated kiss in the middle of the guild. What surprised him the most was that Kaleb seemed like he was about to take Lucy on a table in front of them. Her face was a bit flushed when she set back down but there was a small smirk.

Bickslow started a loud whistle which was soon echoed by others in the room.

"Get a room!" Erik added.

"I like that idea. Let's go." Lucy pulled Kaleb away to a bunch of laughs and cheering.

.~*~.

Like the day before, when Kaleb rose with the sun, Lucy started tossing and turning in her sleep before she started screaming. All without ever waking up. And once she felt Kaleb's presence next to her again, she settled back down.

It made no sense to him because he could hear that she had no recollection of the events. Some part of her subconscious was fighting and he couldn't figure out where. At the same time, nothing in her conscious mind expressed any concerns and he couldn't bring himself to add another worry. It didn't help that Xally was nagging him to keep her away from stress as it wasn't good for the baby.

"Hey," Lucy said, popping into his office. They'd both come downstairs to work in their respective offices.

"Hi. Are you leaving already?"

"Yeah. Levy, Wendy, and Chelia are downstairs with Talia and Aelin."

Arman's bragging about his first grandbaby reached the guild faster than she'd hoped. That led to Talia and Aelin inviting her to go shopping. And, knowing that she'd been neglecting her duties as Mistress, she'd accepted.

The face that Kaleb made when she'd mentioned shopping had made her giggle. Especially when paired with the concerned look at the lack of space they had in their bedroom. Some of her clothes had already begun encroaching on what would be the nursery.

"Is Emi joining you?"

"Probably. I doubt you'd be able to stop her once she heard the word 'shopping.'"

He chuckled as she came over to kiss him. "Probably not. Have fun."

"I will. I don't have my tablet so if anything big happens-"

"I'll call. Don't worry and enjoy some girl time."

He smiled as she left. They'd have to get back to being okay being apart. He was relieved that she'd invited one of her dragons instinctively and didn't complain about his constant presence in her mind like she would have. Even just then, in her office, she'd had Bickslow and Erik with her.

"Do you want me to summon Loke to walk me to them?" she asked. There was a hint of teasing in her voice but also sincerity. As much as she hated separating, she knew that he did as well. Neither of them were willing to pretend at safety anymore.

"I think you'll manage that far."

She giggled and kissed him again.

*.*.*

Lucy was surprised that Carla had decided to join them. The Exceed was being held by Chelia though her general scandalized expression towards Boscan society was there just under the surface. As much grief as the cat had given her over Wendy losing her virginity to Romeo, she was glad that Carla seemed to like Wendy's mate. Despite always encouraging Wendy to embrace her magic, Carla had seemed against the idea of Wendy ever finding a mate. The fact that Chelia had slipped under her ever-attentive gaze made Lucy and Levy cackle.

Maternity shopping, as it turned out, bored Emzadi so she only lasted an hour. No one risked pointing out that she'd need maternity clothes eventually as well though Lucy was certain that she wasn't pregnant yet. Lucy was also grateful that she didn't last long because she saw the glares directed at Carla every time the Exceed made that haughty sniffing noise.

Emzadi did enjoy shopping for her future niece or nephew and Lucy was looking forward to the exasperated look on Kaleb's face as the stuff that his father and sister bought started arriving at the residence. This child was going to be ridiculously spoiled.

The group stopped at a café where one of the waitresses recognized Lucy as the Mistress of White Sea. The sweet café became a bustle of activity as the waitresses fought over serving their table. Lucy dropped her head to the table and groaned.

"Do you wanna try somewhere else?" Wendy asked.

"Short of going outside White Sea, I'm not sure anywhere else wouldn't have this reaction. And I promised Kaleb if I left White Sea, it would be with him."

After a few minutes of them waiting just to get their drinks, the owner arrived, yelled at her servers, and proceeded to take over the table herself. With the exception of the air mages who could drink coffee, the others ordered tea.

Talia was nearing eight months pregnant and had shifted out of the craving phase. Aelin, who was four months pregnant, asked for a ham sandwich with hot sauce and caramel. While the other four mages were ranging from surprise to disgust, the owner didn't bat an eye. The two air mages chose not to eat while Levy got pie.

"Diet's over?" Lucy asked.

Levy lifted her shirt. The bump was small enough that they only really saw it because Levy had pointed it out. "Since this is apparently a baby, I don't see why I should bother with a diet."

"I'm surprised you're showing already. I didn't start showing until I was nearly five months with my first," Talia commented.

"Same. Then all of a sudden there it was."

"I was excited because we'd been trying. To the point that we were about to go see a doctor when I found out I was pregnant. So, when I started showing, it was like proof that there was another human being in my womb."

"I'm looking forward to feeling him kick for the first time."

"Yeah, but trust me, the kidney shots get old really fast," Talia said with a cringe as she pressed a hand to her belly. "Levy, are you all right?"

"Gajeel's huge. This baby is going to be huge. It's gonna break me," she muttered, her face ashen. "What if it's twins? What if they're massive twins?"

"Levy, calm down," Lucy said.

"But-"

"Calm. Down. Nothing is gained working yourself into a tizzy. Wendy and Chelia are both healers. Cris too. They'll make sure that nothing goes wrong. Besides, if you couldn't handle his child, you wouldn't be his mate, right?"

"Yeah. Right." Her voice was still shaky that hint of steel was reappearing in her eyes.

"You know, Master Kaleb is rather large as well," Aelin pointed out with a small smile.

Lucy's expression started echoing Levy's ashen look. For all the times, she liked how large he was, she hadn't really thought about what that would mean for their child. Levy looked amused at the change in her friend.

"Lucy, breathe."

"No. No, I'm good. I just hadn't thought about that."

Talia glanced at her watch. "It's almost two. I need to pick up Ray. We should do this again."

"Yes."

"I'll walk with you," Aelin said, standing as well.

"All right. What's wrong?" Levy asked in a low voice as soon as the other two women had left.

"What?" Lucy asked.

"All day, you've had that look that you get when you're doing other things but the plot in your novel is giving you trouble."

Lucy sighed. "I got a letter from Minerva."

"She really needs to end up dead," Wendy muttered, not really looking at any of them until she felt three surprised looks trained on her. "Sorry. Did I say that out loud?"

"Who's the bad influence?"

"Probably Gajeel. It's pretty much what he's been saying since we found out she's who took you. Or Emi… Not the point though. Why would you even read it?"

"Because I didn't realize that's who sent it until the very end."

"What did it say?"

"The mind control that the Joyans use as the first phase of their brainwashing is essentially hypnosis. That's why she didn't try to make me attack Kaleb. He's my mate and I wouldn't do that.

"They had to get one of the Spriggans to get into Beck's head because his loyalty to the guild and Kaleb was unwavering."

"All of this makes logical sense. What I'm missing is what's got you twisting in knots?" Levy said.

"Beck's in love with Kaleb," Chelia said.

"Love is not always…the…answer," Levy retorted before seeing the expression on Lucy's face. "Really?"

"They're Boscan," Lucy said with a shrug.

"Are you thinking that Kaleb loves Beck?" Wendy asked. "Because-"

"That's not what I'm thinking. I'm thinking that Beck was this huge liability that I feel like I could have protected against. They used that he is in love with my mate to get him to tell them how to break our bond. I know they had to break him until he told them what they needed, but it was still essentially of his own free will. And I'm struggling to get back to the place of forgiveness because I'm pregnant and I could have lost my baby."

Lucy's hands were gesturing and if she'd dared to speak above a hushed whisper, she'd probably have reached unsafe decibels. Tears were welling up in her eyes because she knew it wasn't fair to be so harsh towards Beck. That she had no idea about what kind of torture they'd inflicted to get him to that breaking point. Most of her memories from between Minerva capturing her and trying to claim Natsu were hazy at best but she remembered the torture to get her to relinquish her hold on her mate. She knew that he had felt the intense pain as well.

"Have you thought about just talking to him?" Carla asked.

"Sure. 'You know that your best friend is in love with you and was willing to put our lives in jeopardy for a chance to be with you.' Yeah, that'll go over well."

"I feel like I've missed part of this conversation," a smooth baritone voice said from behind Lucy.

Instead of turning to her mate, she fixed Levy with a scathing glare.

"He was worried," Levy said with her hands up defensively.

"Wendy, Chelia, make sure Levy gets back safely," Lucy said, dropping the jewel for her tea on the table and walked out with Kaleb. Neither said anything until they were back home.

"You should've told me when you read the letter," he said, turning to look at her.

"I know, but I also know that he's your best friend."

"So are you. Not only that, you're my mate. The woman I love." He walked over and cupped her face. "I don't fault you for struggling to forgive him. I knew that he was in love with me and I was being careful not to give him a reason to hold on."

"That guilt," she said softly.

The first time they'd gone to see him after returning to White Sea, both of them could see that the guilt was tearing him apart. He was upset because they'd used his heart to hurt someone he loved.

Kaleb couldn't tell her not to be angry because he was struggling as well. Not only did he remember his own pain and the fear in his brothers' eyes when they couldn't heal him since it was Lucy being hurt, but because he also knew that on some level, she remembered it as well. He remembered Xally's concern that the torture might cause her to lose the baby.

However, he also knew how repentant his friend was. Minda had already been waiting for them when Beck arrived with Emzadi and the others. Beck had cried for a good chunk of the flight as the drugs that Cristoff couldn't heal away worked their way out of his system.

She walked over to him and pressed her face into his chest as her arms wrapped around his waist and cried. That was what had been missing. She hadn't cried. He picked her up and carried her into the bedroom to cuddle her while she cried.

.~*~.

Rhiannon was regretting asking Vander to train her. She had no endurance except in bed. Well, she had her natural dragon endurance which was better than the average person's but training with Emzadi and Laxus proved that she was in worse shape than she thought.

"I take it back. I know a hot water spring that seems like a much better idea than this," Rhiannon said as she fell onto her back in the grass next to the track they'd been running.

"Love," Vander said, his voice too teasing for her comfort, "most of that was in Caelish."

"Bite me."

"When and where?"

"C'mon," Emzadi said, running in place. "We haven't even gotten to the magic training."

"Nope. Fuck this. As soon as I can feel my legs, I'm goin' home." Her accent was coming out rough.

"I promise a massage and I have that spa tub at my house," Vander said. He smirked when she cracked an eye open to glare at him.

"I hate ye."

"No, you don't." He stood then bent to scoop her up. "You can rest until we meet Cris for your magic training."

*.*.*

Cristoff decided to have her training in a clearing. His logic being that she was so untrained that he'd rather avoid as much damage as possible. The clearing was nearly the size of one of the training grounds and showed signs of the other students Cristoff had brought there to minimize damage.

It took them an hour to realize that she struggled to tap into her dragon slayer abilities unless in danger. They managed to coax out a few weak attacks while sparring before calling it a day.

"It's a good thing you're smart," Vander teased lightly then nipped her tongue when she stuck it out at him.

"Face it. I suck."

"No. You've never tried to be fighter. Except you're not always going to be to think your way out of trouble."

"Then maybe we should focus on running. And agility," she mused.

"Okay. I'll call Bix," he said, pulling out his comm.

"Wait!" she yelled, jumping on his back and trying to pry the comm from his hand.

.~*~.

"What are you thinking about?" Laxus asked as Emzadi traced absentminded designs on his bare chest.

Watching him lift in the gym had aroused her enough that she'd pulled him into the first open booth. Neither bothered to redress and just jumped up to their apartment to have another round in the shower.

The first time Emzadi had trained in the gym with Lucy, Lucy had wondered why there were a few privacy booths there as well. It wouldn't be until later, when their training session coincided with Kaleb and Cristoff's, that she'd muttered, 'Now, I get it,' while staring wide-eyed at the two men. At the time, it had surprised Emzadi that she hadn't jumped Kaleb as that was who her attention strayed to the most. Instead, it had been Cristoff that she worked off the arousal with.

"Random stuff," Emzadi replied. "Wondering why I haven't gotten pregnant yet. Lucy is. Levy is. Meredy and Rhia are still taking birth control."

"All hell's breaking loose and you _want_ to get pregnant now?" Laxus asked, arching an eyebrow.

"I know. I know. You're right." She said that, but he could still hear the disappointment in her voice.

Laxus rolled over so that he hovered above her. "Well, there's only one way that's going to happen." He skipped over her lips to start trailing his mouth down her neck.

"Practice is always good," she said as his hand moved between her legs.

.~*~.

Cristoff had blindfolded Meredy before jumping her.

"Where are we?" she asked with a giggle.

"Don't you trust me?"

"With my life. Doesn't mean I don't know there's a mischievous streak in you."

"Fair enough," he acknowledged. "You can pull it off now."

Meredy pulled off the blindfold to look up into her favorite face before he physically turned. She gasped at the view. They were on a cliff above forests that continued into the Grass Sea. In the distance, she could see Cellis, the Acadame Celestine, and the Stargazer Mountains.

"This is one of my favorite views. I know that you've on a landscaping kick."

That was when she noticed that he was holding the leather tote that she usually carried her art supplies in.

"What are you going to do?"

"Sit here with you. Did you know that you scrunch your nose when you have trouble getting something to look right?"

"I do not."

"You do. It's adorable."

He bent down to kiss her. He'd only meant for it to be a chaste kiss until she deepened it.

Yes, she intended to draw the beautiful scenery, but Meredy saw no reason that it shouldn't be postcoital or even as the background of a sketch of her mate.

.~*~.

Kaleb was meeting with a team in his office so Lucy went down to find Bickslow and Erik making out in a corner booth in the game room.

"Get a room."

"The booths are full, and we can't just jump to our apartment," Erik said. "So, go away, Tink." He moaned as Bickslow ground against his erection.

"I'm bored and everyone's busy."

" _We're_ busy."

"C'mon. Play pool with me."

"You're going to continue being a cockblock unless we do, aren't you?" Bickslow asked, finally pulling his mouth away from Erik's neck to the dragon slayer's annoyance.

"Yup. Though," she said, whipping out two pieces of paper, "I'll make it worth your while to keep me entertained for awhile."

Erik snatched them from her hand. "These are VIP tickets for The Alchemist."

"The nightclub?" Bickslow asked, moving Erik's hand. "How did you get these?"

"They were sent to Kaleb but neither of us want to use them." She shrugged. "Besides, the whole gimmick of the place is that they use small dosages of various poisons in their drinks."

"And you just wanna play pool for a while? Sold," Erik said pocketing the tickets.

"Actually, can we run for a bit? I'm feeling a bit restless."

Erik's eyes softened. Not enough for anyone else to notice but enough for Bickslow and Lucy who both teased him about being a softy.

"Screw you both."

"Sorry, but that's entirely a Bixy job." That set Bickslow into one of his tongue-wagging laughs.

.~*~.

"Dad?" Farron said, walking into his father's office.

Arman looked, tried to rub the exhaustion from his eyes, and smiled. "Farron. It's good to have you back." He stood and walked over to hug his son. "I need coffee."

"You need sleep," Farron said as he followed his father into kitchen.

"That too. How's Stella?"

"As good as it's going to get. Better now that Joya is under their control."

"The remaining Warqueens will regain control once the war fully starts."

"Most likely." Farron waved off his father when he made a gesture to ask if he wanted coffee as well. "There's reports about Iceburg and Pergrande concealing Alvarez troops. Naturally, neither are confirming."

"If they are, how much time do you think we have?"

"I don't know. Both Kaleb and Lucy think that Spriggan- Zeref- is planning to do something that will be a big distraction first. I haven't gotten a hold of Van or Rhiannon to see what she's thinking. I have a meeting with generals and a few of the other ambassadors that have pulled out of their countries tomorrow."

"Speaking of Kaleb and Lucy, Lucy's pregnant. See? It's not all bad news."

Farron grinned. "That's amazing. I need to call him and yell at him for not telling me first."

Arman chuckled. "What are your plans for the evening?"

"I just came by to check in. I owe Freed a night of my undivided attention."

"Good idea. You've got a good man there."

"I know." Farron glanced around. "How's Zen?"

The patriarch grimaced. "If it was one of you, I'd have said that he was moping. Otherwise, he's fine."

"Have you thought about calling Lucy?"

"Yeah, but I raised the six of you. Shouldn't I be able to do this on my own?"

"You had Mr. and Mrs. Elan, Grenlow, and Minda helping you."

"Yeah… Good point." Arman sighed. "I'll call her."

.~*~.

Lucy poked her head into Zen's bedroom. He was laying on his stomach reading. The time spent with Andromeda before they rescued him got him fluent in Boscan. Common was spoken amongst the slaves as it was the shared language throughout Ishgar. He'd thrown himself into his studies and was progressing quickly, but it would still take time.

She tiptoed over and jumped onto the opposite side of the bed. The surprise had him rolling out of his bed and making Lucy laugh.

"Was that necessary?"

"Necessary, no. Hilarious, yes."

Zen groaned and rolled his eyes as he climbed back into his bed. "I'm surprised Kaleb isn't here."

"He's on his way. He's gotten some speed and wanted to try racing me. He took a hovership part way but I'm not sure where he stopped and started flying. Gave him an hour's head start though."

"I take it your aim has gotten better."

"Yup. Only about two miles off this time." She gave him a proud smirk.

"Why are you here?"

"Papa Arman says you're being mopey."

"I'm not being mopey."

"You definitely seem mopey."

"What the fuck does 'mopey' even mean?"

Lucy giggle and he found himself smiling at the sound. "Low in spirits. This has something to do with Emery, doesn't it?"

Zen sighed. "She kissed me before she left. Left with another man. Not sure how I'm supposed to take that."

Lucy frowned and pulled her tablet out of her shoulder bag. "This man?" she asked, showing him the picture of God Serena.

"Yeah. He's dead?"

"Uh huh. I think it was Emery's doing."

"Why?"

"Saving us meant that she was going against Zeref and Acnologia. He was probably supposed to her to them, so she did what she had to. They'd have probably killed her and she knew it."

"Then why not stay?" He stood and started pacing. "Why kiss me and leave? None of this makes sense. Why do I feel like this?"

"Love is many things. None of them logical," Lucy said softly.

Zen turned to her in surprise. That hadn't been what he'd expected. He wanted her. It was a different feeling than it had been with Lucy. Lucy was soft strength, like Boscan silk. There was a strength to Emery but worn down and frayed at the edges.

"She's a bit like you, don't you think? It would've been easy to succumb entirely to the dark but neither of you did." Her tone was pensive but there was a knowing glint in her eyes.

"Thank you," Zen said. "Any ideas on what to do next?"

"Have you been back?"

"'Back?'" he echoed.

"The clearing where you two would meet?"

"Why would she go there?"

"Because it's probably the closest place that she can call home right now. I'd leave her a message. Not a note but something that she would know could only have come from you."

"Why?"

"It's more romantic. Just do it."

"Okay. Okay," he said with his hands up in mock surrender. "I have an idea."

"Good. Now, if you don't mind, Kaleb and I have plans at the Pelerno branch tonight."

He watched her flounce off and heard the car that Kaleb had ordered drive off. Hoping to catch him before he left, Zen went downstairs in search of Mr. Elan.

"Can we make a batch of your cinnamon chocolate chip cookies?"

"Why?"

"A romantic gesture."

There was still a bit of confusion in Mr. Elan's expression, but he smiled and proceeded to get the ingredients for the cookies out. He even called his wife to bring over one of their fancier cookie tins to hold them in. Mrs. Elan brought over a lily that she showed Zen how to secure with a ribbon bow.

Not sure where to put it, he simply left it in the middle of the clearing.

*.*.*

The following day, he returned. The tin was still there, but he noticed that the lily was gone. He walked over and picked it up. Immediately, he recognized that it was empty and opened it. Resting inside was a simple note:

 _Not bad. My mom's were better though_


	45. Chapter 44

**On the fifth day of Christmas, my very apologetic true love gave to me...**

 **Comments remind me to post. I own nothing.**

Zeref was furious. So much so that the rest of the rest of the Shields, with the exception of August, Invel, and Larcade, were making themselves scarce. Even the servants who weren't usually subject to his fits of wrath were walking on eggshells.

While Acnologia was dealing with Emery, Wall Eehto had been with Motherglare as they worked their way through Bellum. Then Motherglare disappeared. At first, Zeref was afraid that Acnologia had killed Emery. He'd seen the bruises that dotted her skin but he saw no reason he should be bothered by it other than to remind Acnologia not to kill her.

His spy within White Sea informed him the moment they left. He'd known in that moment that Acnologia had lost control of Emery. He felt confident that no one else would've called Master Pradesh and informed him where his mate was.

He'd sent Serena after her. Just as he would with any of his Shields, he sensed when Serena died. The only logical explanation was Emery. Only she could've killed him before his magic spike enough that they sensed it. He'd gone to Neinhart to confirm it.

"Where is he?" Zeref said.

"In your study, my lord," August said.

"I want her dead," he said as he stormed into his study. "I want her dead and the lacrima removed from her chest."

"She hasn't been using her magic, so I haven't been able to track her." Acnologia's anger was making his magic bubble just below the surface.

"Then don't track her. Track the angel. I doubt she'll go far from him. Take one of the Shields with you."

"I want Invel."

Zeref arched an eyebrow before understanding why. He knew, of course, that Emery had expressed an attraction to his assistant. That had led an irate dragon to nearly kill him.

"Kill the angel as well."

.~*~.

Zen landed in the clearing with a basket of food. While Mr. Elan didn't prod, he seemed to have guessed that Zen was feeding someone in trouble. It had taken longer than he'd meant for to get out of the kitchen, but Zen was appreciative for the man. Mr. Elan went through each container and listed what foods were perishable and which weren't.

It took a few minutes for her to appear. She looked as if she hadn't had the chance to slow down and he was cursing himself for not thinking to grab some clothes from his sisters' rooms. It didn't help that it was the end of November and the air was starting to get nippier.

She ran to him before skidding to a stop. "Can I hug you?"

"Yeah." He wrapped his arms around her and felt her shiver. Somehow, he knew that it was mostly the contact between their magics. He let go, unbuttoned his shirt, draped it over her shoulders, then pulled her back into his chest. "It's not much but I didn't think to grab something from Xally."

"No. It's fine. I just wanna stay here for a minute." The words were barely out of her mouth when her stomach grumbled, and she felt his chest move as he held back the chuckle.

"I brought food."

"Yup. Definitely an angel," she murmured as she let go and her gaze diverted to the basket he'd dropped.

"It's okay."

She dropped to the basket and started tearing open the containers. He frowned, having seen that behavior in women brought to him when he was in Skys Reach. The women were barely fed and he often shared his food with them, even if he wouldn't risk his seed.

He sat down and gently reached out to her. "It's okay. There's food in there for you to take with you…if you aren't willing to come home with me."

She stopped, her hand lowering. "I can't." In her head, as she looked at her hands, they were covered in blood. Tears appeared in her eyes. "I can't. So many are dead and it's my fault. I don't get it. Why are you here?"

"What-"

She shoved away the food and stood up. "Why are you being so kind? Why do you act like you care?"

"Because I do."

"Why?"

"I-"

"He's killed them all. My entire hometown. He killed them all. And he enjoyed it," she sobbed.

It had been stupid but with no better ideas, she'd gone home. There were coworkers that she could've crashed on their couches or gotten some clothes from. Instead, she found carnage. Most of the buildings were still standing. What Acnologia had wanted was the streets filled with blood. He'd even desecrated her parents' graves.

"You should stay away. I should stay away."

Remembering something that he'd seen Kaleb do, Zen stood up and cupped her cheeks so that she had to look at him. His fingers almost recoiled at how hot her skin was.

"You're feverish."

"Yup," she said softly, pressing her face into his comparatively cool palms. "Burning from the inside out. Dalviama gives me a day or two. Tops."

"There's gotta be-"

"Well, I guess Zeref really is a genius," Acnologia taunted as he and Invel popped into the clearing.

"You doubted him?"

"Meh. Just wish he was wrong more often."

.~*~.

Rhiannon and Vander were doing outdoor parkour in the woods. Surrounded by her element, she was more agile, and Vander wished he'd thought of that before inflicting Laxus and Emzadi's training regimen on her. He could see the pride in the fact that she was out-pacing him as they played a version of tag that was slowly decreasing the amount of clothing they were each wearing.

She had just launched herself off a tree to avoid him only to freeze mid-push. He'd barely gotten there in time to stop her from splitting her head open.

"What is it?"

"Acnologia."

Immediately the link was established with Kaleb and then connected with the rest of their siblings.

 _He's got Zen and Emery in their clearing. There's a Shield with them._

Back at White Sea, Lucy walked into Kaleb's office and plopped down on the couch.

 _Any ideas on which Shield?_ Lucy asked.

 _Nae. The Earth is cold though._

 _Okay. Emi, Cris, head there now. Laxus, grab Natsu. I have feeling we're going to need heat. Rhia, I need you be my eyes and ears._

"What are you doing?" Kaleb asked as she laid back with her eyes closed.

"Visualizing. Now, hush."

.~*~.

Zen grabbed Emery and launched them into sky. They didn't get far before his wings froze and they fell back to the ground. He held her to his chest to ensure that she didn't get hurt.

"Sorry, Icarus," Invel said as Acnologia yanked Emery to him. Invel pulled Zen into an upright position and incased him in ice.

Emzadi, Cristoff, and Meredy appeared. They jerked away as Acnologia roared at them. The roar was followed by Invel throwing up an ice wall.

"Make a globe," Acnologia ordered. "I want to enjoy this."

Invel nodded and made an ice casing around them with little holes for air. Through them, they could hear the now two fire dragon slayers trying to melt Invel's un-meltable ice as well as roars from Cristoff and Laxus.

"Will the globe hold long enough to freeze the archangel to death?"

"Yes," Invel said, not hiding the sneer.

"Stop! Don't do this!" Emery yelled, thrashing against Acnologia's arms. She wasn't sure which man she was yelling at.

There was a hint of fear in Zen's eyes as Invel completely incased him. It took a lot to kill an archangel, but he also knew that he had frostbite on his back where his sprouted from. Invel's ice was cold enough that he was already struggling to feel his fingertips.

Acnologia released her. She crumpled to the ground and crawled over Zen.

"Please, stop," she begged Invel. She saw the flicker of remorse, but he didn't move. "You don't have to do this."

"Lord Zeref has called for both of your deaths."

"And you're about to burn out, aren't you?" Acnologia had a sneer on his face as she turned to him. There were paths in the dirt on her cheeks from the tears as she shakily stood up and walked to him.

"You knew, didn't you? That the lacrima would kill me."

"Yes. It's why Zeref stopped God Serena from implanting it in himself. We're gonna-"

Emery kissed him. She poured the pain of every bruise, every cut, the scars that never healed into the anger that was pulling out his soul.

"Goodbye, my love," she said against his lips before continuing the kiss.

 ** _Taking all of him now will kill you,_** Dalviama warned.

 _I know._

She held onto him as she followed his body down. There would be nothing left of him, she decided. They couldn't risk some part of his soul remaining.

The dagger from Joya was still in her boot. She pulled it out and plunged it into his heart. Then, staring at the blood pooling around the blade, she started sobbing. Quiet, body-shaking sobs as she placed her head on his stomach.

Invel resisted the urge to go to her. He was her mate. He'd known it since she first woke up and her eyes flashed red when she touched him. With his emperor's determination to win back his brother, he'd done the research into dragon slayers. It was why, of all the Shields, she'd liked him best. And not just because he could ice her numerous injuries, as Dimaria and Ajeel liked to say.

He asked her about it once. Asked her if she listened to her dragon. Emery had said that the dragon didn't like Acnologia, so she usually didn't listen to it. He'd known the dragon's history with Acnologia so that didn't surprise him. However, he also knew the narrative Zeref and Acnologia spun, so he didn't say anything else.

Between attacks, he dropped the globe.

"She'll die in the next couple of hours if the lacrima isn't extracted," he said coldly. "It's between the fourth and fifth ribs on her right side."

"Why are you helping?" Laxus said.

"I'm not." With that, he disappeared.

"I think that was the Winter General," Rhiannon said.

Cristoff immediately moved to Emery while Emzadi pulled Natsu over to work on freeing Zen. Laxus, realizing more healers would be needed, left to retrieve Wendy and Chelia. Without Invel maintaining the ice, the fire slayers made quick work of the block of ice holding Zen.

Cristoff had Kaleb call ahead to the Citadel. The healers there were better trained for removing the lacrima. He and Lucy would meet them there. She was going to give the lacrima to Draco in the hopes that the dragon would have a better idea on freeing Dalviama.

They decided to take Zen there as well. The Immaculate Light, the source of the archangels, would do him some good as well.

Zen healed up easily enough and insisted on waiting with Lucy, Kaleb, and Draco for the doctor. The surgeon came out with a small dish that she passed on to Draco who disappeared back to the celestial realm with the lacrima.

"Getting the lacrima out proved tricky because her ribs had been broken since it was implanted. Between its incompatibility with the human body and simply overtaxing the magic… the damage it did to her body is permanent. If she survives the night, I'll be surprised."

Lucy grabbed ahold of Zen's forearm before he could force his way into the room. "Can we see her?" she asked.

"Yes, but I don't think she'll respond to much."

Zen burst into the room but stopped as soon as he saw her in the bed. Then, he walked slower and touched her cheek. Her temperature had gone down. Other than a slight furrowing over her brow, there were no signs that she'd recognized their presence.

He closed his eyes and tried to push his magic into her. It took a minute for him to feel like he was doing anything.

"Zen?" Emery said softly.

He opened his eyes and stroked her cheek. "Hey."

"How long?"

Zen swallowed thickly and turned to look helplessly at Lucy. She stepped over to Emery's other side.

"They don't think you'll make it through the night."

"Hm… Hi, cuz."

"Hi." Lucy glanced at Zen whose gaze was back on Emery. "I'll leave you two alone."

Zen took her hand and rubbed the top of her hand with his thumb.

"Don't cry for me," she said softly. "I'm not worth it."

"Yes, you are. Lucy said we're kind of alike. That we still found our way back to the light."

"Did I?" Her eyes fluttered close. "That's good. Maybe I'll make it to my parents after all."

Behind him, there was the chime of Andromeda summoning herself. She was back in her preferred preteen form.

"You can still save her," Andromeda murmured.

"How?"

"Wake her. Then, mate."

"You've been trying to stop me from doing exactly that."

"No. I've been trying to stop you from doing that against your will. Her spirits are fond of her and hope she'll make new contracts. You could do worse." She sighed. "The Immaculate Light here will give you the strength to sustain her during the first phase. If you decide to do it, I've taken off my binding on the chain. Take it off if you decide to mate. Good luck."

 _Love is many things. None of them logical._

He pushed as much magic as he could into her. As he did, he could feel the Immaculate Light filling him. It was as if he was conduit for it.

"What are you doing?"

"Claim me. Be my mate."

"No."

"You'll die if you don't."

"I know. I won't take your choice from you."

"You're not. I'm volunteering."

"No. I'm not-"

Zen pulled the necklace off and dropped it. He was sure he heard it fall but as soon as it was off him, he felt the full pull of their two magics. It was also stronger without her dragon muffling it in Emery.

"See? I made the decision because I want you. Please."

When he kissed her, he felt her sigh before her hands were all over him. It took everything in him to remember that she was weak and to take things as slow as he could.

He could feel their magic twisting around each other. It wasn't as strong as he'd like. She was physically weak and hadn't had her contracts in a year. As her body recovered, it would strengthen. He hoped.

"You knew that would happen," Kaleb whispered as they wandered away from the room as the sounds became more sexual. He figured now was as good a time as any to show her around the Citadel since the only other time they'd been there was for Kurino's execution.

"There was never a chance he was going to let her die."

"I'm proud of you. For not insisting on fighting."

"I'll complain about that later." Lucy intertwined her fingers with his. "Though, Levy estimates that dragon slayer gestation is only six months. I talked to Arman and he said that he and Ganier had been concerned when she'd given birth so early so archangels are probably close or the same."

"Were you hoping to be able to guess by how quickly the pregnancy progressed?"

"A little bit. Though, it's probably a good thing your family is already buying stuff for them."

"Wait until it becomes a contest on who can buy the loudest most obnoxious gifts."

Lucy giggled, and Kaleb bent down to kiss her.

"Careful. I'm not sure there are privacy booths here."

"There are in the east wing where the Knights stay."

"I forgot that you'd know that." She glanced back in the direction of the infirmary. "You know, maybe we should just let Arman wait for them."

"That's a good idea. Emery will go home with Zen anyways."

She waited while Kaleb called his father before jumping them home.

.~*~.

"Acnologia's dead?" Zeref said.

"Yes. Emery killed him." Invel's voice was carefully apathetic.

"Is she dead?" Zeref's tone had barely concealed anger.

"As bad shape as she was in, not even the lunar slayer could have saved her. Your brother was there and you ordered that no one engage him in battle."

"And the archangel?"

"I left him in ice but there were two fire mages."

"Go before I do something that I regret."

Invel bowed his head as he left. Zeref walked over to the map where he adjusted his plans before calling for his right hand.

"Emperor?" August asked when he was summoned.

"Get the second wave ready."

"Yes, Emperor."

Zeref called Irene who was in Ishgar with Ajeel, Brandish, and half-million troops.

"Is it time?" Irene asked.

"Yes. Prepare the first wave."

.~*~.

Lucy woke up in the woods, pressed against a familiar body that wasn't Kaleb's.

"Cris?" she asked, blinking owlishly in the early sunlight.

Cristoff jumped up and looked around. "Where are we? Where's Meredy?"

 _Lucy!_ Kaleb yelled.

 _Ow. Calm down. I'm with Cris._

 _Where?_

 _That is a very good question._

Lucy began to hear the interference from the rest of Kaleb's family. At the same time, she felt a faint tugging that was trying to pull her multiple directions.

"What are you doing?" Cris asked as she moved into a sitting position.

"Hush," she said, echoing the word to Kaleb.

It was as if there were multiple strings pulling at her. She closed her eyes imagined opening the connection. Suddenly, there was a cacophony of voices in her head. It took a moment for her to realize that she was hearing her dragons.

 _"_ _Stop."_ The voices all stopped and Lucy could see Cristoff giving her a surprised look as he heard it both through his dragon and verbally. She could also feel Kaleb's presence and was letting him eavesdrop.

 _"_ _That's new,"_ Rhiannon said.

 _"_ _No kidding. Is anyone with their mates?"_ Lucy asked.

 _"_ _I'm wit' Vander, but we didn' wake up together."_ That was soon echoed by the other slayers.

 _"_ _All right. Rhia, which slayer who can teleport is closest to Levy?"_

There was a moment of silence before she said, _"Emi. Levy is about thirty miles northeast of your location."_

 _"_ _Okay. Gajeel, stay where you are. Emi, Laxus, I know you are trying to get to one another but Levy is pregnant."_

 _"_ _Understood,"_ Emzadi said.

 _"_ _There's a bigger problem,"_ Rhiannon said.

 _"_ _What?"_

 _"_ _I'm standin' between a tree that belongs in Shirosume Forest and a Boscan cypress."_

 _"_ _And the_ _Iridaceae Mountains are wrong,"_ Rogue added.

 _"_ _What are you saying?"_ Lucy finally asked.

 _"_ _I dinnae think that it's jus' us that's been moved. I think it's everything."_

 _"_ _Well fuck."_


End file.
